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JOi'.L P.ARLOW. 
I'Voin a family portrait, never l)of()ro eiipfravccl. 



THE 
HISTORY OF REDDING 

CONNECTICUT 

FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE 
PRESENT TIMI^, WITH NOTES ON THE 

Adams, Banks, Barlow, Bartlett, Bartram, Bates, Beach, Benedict, Betts, 

Burr, Burritt, Burton, Chatfield, Couch, Darling, Fairchild, Foster, 

Gold, Gorham, Gray, Griffin, Hall, Hawley, Heron, Hill, 

Hull, Jackson, Lee, Lyon, Lord, Mallory, Meade, 

Meeker, Merchant, Morehouse, Perry, Piatt, 

Read, Rogers, Rumsey, Sanford, Smith, 

Stow, and Strong families 

By 
CHARLES BURR TODD 

Author of *' Story of the City of New York," ''Life of Aaron Burr," 

In Olde Connecticut," Etc. 






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THE GRAFTON PRESS 
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK 



LIBRARYof CONGRESS 

One Ooiif/ Keceived 

JAti 21 1307 

y* CjpyrtKlit Entry , 
CLASS 4 AXc. No, 



COPYRIGHT 1906 
BY 

:harles burr todd. 






Printed for the Author by the Newburgh Journal Company. 



PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 



AN interest is attached to the place of one's birth which change of 
scene rather enhances than removes, and which increases rather than 
diminishes in intensity as one approaches the later stages of life; this 
home feeling has been largely instrumental in the production of this work, 
and to it is due nearly everything of interest or value that the book posses- 
ses. 

A history of Redding has been long contemplated by the author as a 
service due his native town, and as long shrunk from because of the labor, 
the expense, and the difficulty of its compilation. Whether well or illy 
done, it is now completed, and goes out to the somewhat limited public for 
whom it was written. 

The materials for the work have been drawn largely from the ancient 
records of the town and parish, from the records of the colony, and from 
the files of musty papers in the State Library at Hartford. Tradition and 
oral information have not been neglected, and every reasonable effort has 
been made to render the work as far as possible a thorough and reliable 
history of the town. That errors and discrepancies will be found, is to 
be expected ; but it is not believed that they are sufficiently numerous or 
important to destroy its historical value. In the preparation of the book 
the compiler has aimed to preserve the character of a local historian, and 
has confined himself chiefly to the narration of local facts and incidents. 
In harmony with this principle, an extended biography of Joel Barlow, at 
first intended for this work, has been excluded. The sketch of the poet 
so grew on the author's hands, that it was found it would make a volume 
by itself, and contained so much of general interest and detail that it could 
not be made to harmonize with the local character of this work. A con- 
cise sketch of the poet's life, however, and the original portrait from Ful- 
ton's oil-painting, that formed the frontispiece of the Columbiad, are in- 
cluded in its pages. 

The compiler has not aimed at making a large book ; many facts in few 
words is what a busy age demands of the historian, and in deference to 
this demand only such matter as was of real value and interest has been 
admitted. The church histories and the genealogical notes are, perhaps, 
the most important, if not the most interesting, portions of the work. It 
would have added to the value of the ecclesiastical history, no doubt, if it 
had been prepared by the pastors of the different churches represented; 
but, with one exception, these had so recently assumed the care of their 



IV PREFACE. 

charges, that they did not feel at liberty to undertake it, and the task fell 
to the lot of the compiler. If this department is not what it might have 
been, the cause may be found in the disadvantages which a layman must 
labor under in attempting to write ecclesiastical history. The Rev. Mr. 
VVelton, rector of Christ Church, very kindly consented to prepare the 
history of that church, and his paper will be read with interest by our 
citizens. 

In preparing the notes on the early families pf the town, it was the 
writer's intention at first to make them much more complete and exten- 
sive. But the little interest in the matter manifested by the families con- 
cerned, and the great labor and expense involved in compiling any thing 
like a complete history of the thirty or forty families mentioned, led him 
to abridge the work, and to give the matter in the form of notes taken 
chiefly from the town and parish records. The fact that the record of 
some families is given more fully than that of others, is not owing to any 
partiality on the author's part, but to the fact that these families interested 
themselves enough in the matter to furnish the data called for. 

By reference to the title-page it will be seen that the modern method 
of spelling the name of the town — Redding — is adopted rather than the 
ancient — Reading. Legally, no such town as Reading exists in Connecti- 
cut, since, both in the act of incorporation and on the probate seal, the 
name is spelled Redding; and inquiry elicits the fact that the majority of 
the citizens prefer the latter method of spelling. It is the opinion of the 
writer, however, that the original name of the town was Reading, and 
that if historical precedents are to be followed it should be so named now. 
In all old documents among the State archives, and in the ancient records 
of Fairfield (where the name first occurs), the orthography is Reading. 
In the town and society records it is spelled either Redding or Reding, 
rarely Reading. Rev. Moses Hill, a gentleman well versed in the an- 
tiquities of the town, informs me that at the time of its incorporation, in 
1767, a meeting was held, at which it was voted that the name of the new 
town should be Redding ; and the fact that in the original bill incorporat- 
ing it the name Reading has been crossed out and that of Redding sub- 
stituted, would seem to point to some such action on the part of the town. 
I find no entry of any such action, however, in the town records. 

The books consulted in the preparation of the volume have been Bar- 
ber's " Historical Collections of Connecticut," Hollister's " History of 
Connecticut," DeForest's " Indians of Connecticut," Teller's " History of 
Ridgefield," the Congregational Year-Book, and Stevens' "History of 
Methodism." The author's thanks are due Mr. Lemuel Sanford, our 
efficient town clerk, for ready access to the town records, and for many 
valuable hints and suggestions ; also to Messrs. Thomas Sanford, William 
E. Duncomb, Daniel Sanford, David S. Bartram, James Sanford, and 



PREFACE. V 

David H. Miller, for efficient aid in the preparation of the work. He is 
also indebted to Rev. Moses Hill, of Norwalk, for data of the Hill and 
Barlow families ; and to Mr. A. B. Hull, of Danbury, for many papers and 
documents relating to the history of the town. 

C. B. T. 
Redding, March i, 1880. 



PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 

Many things happen in the space of twenty-six years, even in a coun- 
try town. During that period in Redding, Putnam Memorial Camp has 
been established by the State. There have been brought to light stores of 
Revolutionary data unknown in 1880, which the author was in a position 
to avail himself of, and which it seemed a duty to make public. There 
was also a store of genealogical information in the town and parish 
records not printed in the earlier edition. Then the beauty and salubrity 
of the old town has been discovered by residents of neighboring cities 
who have come, and without doubt will continue to come in ever increas- 
ing numbers, to make their summer homes in its borders, and to whom a 
history of the town will be interesting.. 

These and other considerations have induced the author to issue this 
second edition, which he trusts will meet with as hearty a welcome as 
was accorded that of 1880. 

C. B. T. 

Redding, November i, 1906, 



CONTENTS. 



♦ « » 



CHAP, PAGB 

I. Preliminary Settlement i 

II. Redding As a Parish 15 

III. Town History 21 

IV. Revolutionary History And Incidents 29 

V. Putnam Camp Ground 45 

VI. Gen. Parsons And William Heron 58 

VII. Men of Redding in The Army of The Revolution 63 

VIII. The Redding "Associations" And The Loyalists 75 

IX. The Congregational Church 17 29-1906 83 

X. Christ Church 93 

XI. Methodist Episcopal Church 106 

XII. The Baptist Church in Georgetown 117 

XIII. The Methodist Protestant Church in Georgetown ( Now 

The Congregational) 120 

XIV. History of Schools 122 

XV. Manufactures 125 

XVI. The Gilbert-Bennett Manufacturing Company 128 

XVII. Miscellaneous i^o 

XVIII Redding in The Civil War i jg 

XIX. Biographical 146 

XX. The Summer Colony 181 

XXI. The Literary Colony 183 

XXII. The Redding Institute i3y 

XXIII Parish Register of The Congregational Church 193 

XXIV. The Early Families of Redding 222 

Appendix i. Representatives in The Legislature 283 



PHYSICAL HISTORY. 



" Reading, 6o miles south-west of Hartford, about 5 miles long by 
61-2 wide, with an area of 32 square miles. The Saugatuck River 
crosses it through the middle, north and south ; and the Norwalk River is 
in the west part. The forest trees are oak, nut trees, etc. Population in 
1830, 1686." — United States Gazetteer, 1833. 

" Like many of the New England villages, it is scattered, and beauti- 
fully shaded with elms, maples, and sycamores." — Lossing, Field-Book of 
the Revolution. 

" The geological character of the town, as throughout Western Con- 
necticut is metamorphic. Granite and porphyritic rocks, and especially 
micaceous schists, predominate. The minerals are such as are familiar 
in such rocks — hornblende, garnet, kyanite, tremolite, etc. In the western 
part of the town are deposits of magnesian limestone (or dolomite), much 
of which is quite pure, though some of it contains tremolite and other 
impurities. The other mineral features of the town are not specially note- 
worthy, or of general interest. The soil is probably, in the main, the re- 
sult of the disintegration of the underlying rocks." — Notes of Rev. John 
Dickinson. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



CHAPTER I. 

Preliminary Settlement. 

The history of the early settlement of Redding differs radically from 
that of any of the neighboring towns. A new settlement was generally 
formed by a company of men, who purchased of the Indians a tract of 
I land in the wilderness, had it secured to them by a charter from the Gen- 
eral Assembly, and also surveyed and regularly laid out, and then re- 
moved to it with their wives and families. Danbury, Newtown and Ridge- 
field were settled in this manner ; but Redding at the time of its first set- 
tlement was a part of the town of Fairfield, and so continued for nearly 
forty years — a fact which makes it much more difficult to collect the frag- 
ments of its early history and to accurately define its original metes and 
bounds. Fairfield formerly extended to the cross highway leading from 
the Centre to Redding Ridge, and the entire southerly portion of Redding 
was given by that town on the erection of the former into a parish in 
1729. This portion of Redding was probably surveyed as early as 1640, 
being included in the purchase made by the proprietors of Fairfield in 
1639. Between Fairfield north bounds and the towns of Ridgefield, Dan- 
bury and Newtown, was an oblong tract of unoccupied land, whose bounds 
were about the same as those that now exist between Redding and the 
towns above named ; this tract was variously called, in the early records, 
the '' oblong," the " peculiar," and the " common lands." It was claimed 
by a petty tribe of Indians, whose fortified village was on the high ridge 
a short distance south-west of the present residence of Mr. John Read. 
This tribe consisted of disaffected members of the Potatucks of New- 
town, and the Paugussetts of Milford, with a few stragglers from the 
Mohawks on the west. 

Their chief was Chickens Warrups, or Sam Mohawk, as he was some- 
times called. President Stiles says in his " Itinerary " that he was a 
Mohawk sagamore, or under-chief, who fled from his tribe and settled 
first at Greenfield Hill, but having killed an Indian there he was again 
obliged to flee, and then settled in Redding. All the Indian deeds to the 
early settlers were given by Chickens, and Naseco. who seems to have 
been a sort of sub-chief. The chief, Chickens, figures quite prominently 
in the early history of Redding ; he seems to have been a strange mixture 



2 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

of Indian shrewdness, rescality, and cunning-, and was in continual diffi- 
culty with the settlers concerning the deeds which he gave them. In 1720 
he was suspected by the colonists of an attempt to bring the Mohawks and 
other western tribes down upon them, as is proved by the following 
curious extract from the records of a meeting of the governor and council 
held at New Haven, September 15th, 1720: 

■' It having been represented to this board that an Indian living near 
Danbury, called Chickens, has lately received two belts of wampumpeag 
from certain remote Indians — as it is said, to the west of Hudson River 
— with a message expressing their desire to come and live in this colony, 
which said messenger is to be conducted by aforesaid Chickens to the In- 
dians at Potatuck, and Wiantenuck, and Poquannuck, in order to obtain 
their consent for their coming and inhabiting among them ; and that here- 
upon our frontier towns are under considerable apprehensions of danger 
from Indians, fearing that the belts have been sent on some bad design : 

" It is Rcsohrd, That Captain John Sherman, of Woodbury, and 
Major John Burr, of Fairfield, taking with them Thomas Minor, of 
Woodbury, or such other interpreter as they shall judge meet, do repair 
immediately to said Indians at Potatuck and Wiantenuck. and cause the 
said Chickens, to whom the belts and messengers were sent, to attend 
them, and to make the best inquiry they can into the truth of said story, 
and what may be the danger of said message, and as they shall see cause, 
take proper order that the said Indian with the belts, and the principal 
or chief of the Potatuck and Wiantenuck Indians, attend the General 
Court at its next session, to receive such orders as may be useful to direct 
them in their behavior in relation thereunto; and that -Major Burr return 
home by way of Danbury, that the inhabitants there and in those western 
parts may be quieted as to their apprehensions of danger from the In- 
dians, if upon inquiry they find there is no just ground for them." 

The first deed or grant of land in the ''oblong'' within my knowledge 
was given to Mr. Cyprian Nichols in 1687. This grant, in Secretary 
Wylly's handwriting, reads as follows : 

"At a General Court held at Hartford, October 13, 1687. 

" This Court grants I\Ir. Cyprian Nichols two hundred acres of land 
where he can find it, provided he take it up where it may not prejudice 
any former grant to any particular person or plantation ; and the sur- 
veyors of the next plantation are hereby appointed to lay out the same, 
he paying for it. 

Caleb Stanley." 

Captain Nichols "took up" his grant in that part of the "oblong" 
which is now Lonetown, as is shown by the following document : 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 1 

j March i, a. d. 17 ii. 

j '■ Then laid out ye Grant of two hundred acres of land granted by ye 
j General Court to Capt. Cyprian Nichols, Oct. 13, 1687, as follows, viz., 
beginning" at a great Chestnut tree marked on ye south and west side, and 
J. R. set upon it, standing at ye south end of Woolf Ridge, a little below 
Danbury bounds, thence running west one hundred rods to a Walnut 
tree marked on two sides, then running south one mile to a red oak tree 
marked, then running east one hundred rods to a black oak tree marked, 
then running north one mile to the Chestnut tree first mentioned. An 
heap of stones lying at ye root of each of ye trees. We say then thus 
laid out by us, 

Thomas Hoyt, 
Daniel Taylor, 
Surveyors of ye Town of Danbury. 
" Entered in ye public books of Entrys 
for Surveys of Land, folio 14, per 
Hezekiah Wyllys, Secretary, March 
21, 1711." 

The next two grants in this tract of which we have any record were 
made, the first. May 7th, 1700, to Mr. Daniel Hilton, and the second 
October loth, 1706, to Mr. Richard Hubbell. They were laid out nearly 
at the same time, and side by side, with the preceding grant, as follows : 

"March 3rd, a. d. 1711. 
" Then laid out ye Grant of two hundred acres of land made by ye 
General Court to Mr. Daniel Hilton, May 7, 1700, and ye Grant of one 
hundred acres, granted October loth, 1706, by ye General Court to Mr. 
Richard Hubbell, all in one piece as followeth, viz., Beginning at a Wal- 
nut tree marked, and J. R. upon it, standing a little way North East from 
ye Hog Ridge, between Danbury and Fairfield, thence running two hun- 
dred and eighty rods northerly to a Red Oak tree marked, on ye West 
side of Stadly Ridge, thence running easterly one hundred and eighty- 
four rods to the Little River at two Elm Staddles and a Red Oak, mark- 
ed, thence running Southerly, west of ye river, and bounded upon it, two 
hundred and eighty rods to a bitter Walnut tree, marked, thence running 
one hundred and sixty rods westerly to the Walnut tree first mentioned, 
thus and then laid out by us, 

Thomas Hoyt, 
Daniel Taylor, 

Surveyors of the Tozvn of Danbury." 
These grants were purchased, probably before they were laid out, by 
Mr. John Read, one of the earliest actual settlers of Redding. Mr. Read 
was a gentleman of education, and later became an eminent lawyer in 



A HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Boston. He was withal something of a wag, as is proven by an Indian 
deed given him about this time, which he drew up, and which was — what 
rarely happens — a humorous as well as a legal production.* It reads as 
follows : 

" Know all men by these crooked Scrawls & Seals, yt. we Chickens, 
alias Sam Mohawk, & Naseco, do solemnly declare yt. we are owners of 
yt. tract of land called Lonetown, fenced round between Danbury and 
Fairfield, and Jno. Read, Govr. & Commander in Chief there of, & of the 
Dominions yr-upon depending, desiring to please us, having plied the 
foot, and given us three pounds in money, & promised us an house next 
autumn. In consideration yr'of, we do hereby give and grant to him 
and his heirs the farm above mentioned, corn appertaining, & further of 
our free will — motion & soverain pleasure make ye land a manour, In- 
dowing ye land with ye privileges yr of, and create the sd. John Read, 
Lord Justice and Soverain Pontiff of the same to him and his heirs for- 
ever: Witness our crooked marks and borrowed Seals, this seventh day 
of May, Anno Regni, Anno Dei, Gratia Magna Brittannia, and Regina 
Decimo Tertio, Anno Dom'r, 1714. 

Chickens, alias „ 

Sam Mohawk, , 

mark. 

his 

Naseco X 

mark. 

Sealed and delivered in presence of 

his 

WiNHAM, X 

mark. 

his 
LlACUS, ? 

crook. 
Nathan Gold. 

her 
Martha Harney, X 
mark. 
"The above mentioned Chickens & Naseco — personally appeared & 
acknowledged ye above Instrument yr free act and chearful deed in Fair- 
field, ye 7th of May, 1714, 

before me, 

N. Gold, 

Dcpt. Govr." 



* For this paper and several others that follow, I am indebted to Mr. George 
Read, of Redding, a lineal descendant of Colonel Read. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 5 

About 1723 Captain Samuel Couch of Fairfield appears as a large 
indholder in Redding, and his operations there seem to have caused the 
sttlers no little uneasiness. The General Court of 1712 had ordered 
lat all the lands lying between Danbury and Fairfield, not taken up by 
Ctual settlers, should be sold in Fairfield at public vendue. The land, 
ovvever, was not sold until the August of 1722, when it was bid off by 
Captain Couch for himself and Nathan Gold, Esq. No notice of the 
endue was given to the settlers at Redding, and when news of the sale 
ached them they became very much excited and indignant, and Mr. 
lead at once drew up the following protest and petition, which was signed 
y the farmers and presented to the next General Court at New Haven. 
jt is noteworthy from the fact that the Quaker system of dates is used. 

"At a General Court held at New Haven, 8th, loth, 1723. 
To the Honor'ble the General Court: 

" John Read in behalf of himself and the rest of the farmers or pro- 
irietors of farms between Danbury and Fairfield, humbly sheweth, 

" That the Hon'ble Nathan Gold, Esq., late deceased, and Peter Burr, 
Lsq., as Agents for ye Colony, held a Vandue lately at Fairfield about 
'e time of ye Superior Courts sitting yr in August last, and sold to Capt. 
samuel Couch, who bid for himself and for s'd Nathan Gold, Esq., all ye 
and between Fairfield and Danbury not before disposed of for the sum 

)f . Yr humble pet'rs conceive the same ought not to be 

•atified : because ye same was done so unexpectedly, and without sufiicient 
lotice, none of us most nearly concerned knew any thing of it : if ye order 
)f ye General Court had been freshly passed, ye less notice was need full, 
Dut lying ten or twelve years, sufficient notice was not given, and well 
bonsidered it cant be good. The inconveniences are intolerable ; the place 
IS now growing to be a village apace. Ye lands purchased are but ye 
i over and over for farms. 



" The remaining Scraps will be a very lean and scanty allowance for 
1 comon, and (are) absolutely necessary to accommodate the place with 
iliways, and some strips left on purpose for ye use and ye surveying of 
the farms — Several farms interfere through mistakes and such interfers 
must be supplied elsewhere ; now in such circumstances it was never the 
aard fate of any poor place to have ye shady Rock at their door, and ye 
[)ath out of town or about town sold away from them by ye General Court, 
therefore, humbly praying ye Hon'ble Court to grant ye same to ye 
proprietors of farms there in proportion for a common and hiways, or if 
phe same seem too much, since some persons have bid a sum for our 
hiways we pray to buy them at first hands, and will pay this Hon'ble 
Court for the same as much as ye Court shall sett upon, and remain your 
lienor's most obedient servants. 

" Jno. Read." 



6 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

When tlie matter came before the Court, Mr. Read produced several 
witnesses to show that the vendue was conducted in an unseemly and 
illegal manner; among them Mr. Jonathan Sturges, who deposed as fol- 
lows : 

" Some of the Company began to bid for s'd land, and some of the 
Compaiiy tlesired that Mr. Stone who was there present, would pull out 
his watcii and that the time for bidding should be but ten minutes, and the 
watch was laid down on the table ; for a little time the people bid but slow- 
ly ; but when they perceived the ten minutes to be near out, they began to 
bid very briskly, and when it come to the last minute, the people bid 
more quickly, and at the last they bid so quick after one another that it 
was hard to distinguish whose bid it was ; at the very minute the tenth 
minute ended ; but I, standing near the watch, spoke and said, 'the time is 
out, and it's Capt. Couch's bid,' but I am certain Thomas Hill bid twenty 
shillings more.' " 

Air. Read did not succeed in his attempt to have the sale set aside, 
and the lands were adjudged to the purchasers. Captain Couch seems 
to have disposed of an interest in a part of his purchase to Thomas Nash, 
of Fairfield, and in 1723. the two received a joint patent for the same; 
this patent is a curious and valuable document and is given entire : 

" Whereas, the Governor and Company of the English Colony of 
Connecticut, in General Court assembled at Hartford, the 8th day of May, 
Anno Domini 1712, did order and enact that all those lands (lying with- 
in the said Colony) between Danbury on the north, and the towns of 
Fairfield and Norwalk on the south, should be sold at Public Vendue, 
and by said act did fully authorize and empower the llon'ble Nathan 
Gold and Peter Burr, Esq., both of the town of Fairfield aforesaid, to 
make sale and dispose of the s'd same lands accordingly, and whereas the 
s'd Nathan Gold and Peter Burr in pursuance and by force and virtue 
of the aforesaid act, did by their deed in writing, executed in due form 
bearing date this first day of May, Anno Domini, 1723, for a valuable 
sum of money paid by Samuel Couch and Tliomas Nash, both of the town 
afores'd, Grant, sell, and convey unto them the s'd Samuel Couch and 
Thomas Nash, one hundred acres of s'd land bounded and butted as fol- 
lows, that is to say, lying within six rods of the north bounds line of the 
townships afores'd, and on both sides of the road that leads from Nor- 
walk to Danbury, and lying the whole length of the one hundred acres 
formerly laid out to s'd Thomas Nash and bounded westerly by the s'd 
Thomas Nash, and from the north east corner of s'd Nash, his bound be- 
ing a black oak stump, that stands on the land, and a small box wood tree, 
marked in course, running northerly, sixty-eight degrees, eastwardly 
thirty two rods to a white oak staddle, thence South forty three degrees 



HISTORY OF KI:DDING. 7 

and thirty minutes, eastwardly fifty rods to a rock, and stone on the same, 
that stands on the eastward side of a brook that runs by the southerly end 

! of Umpawaug Hill, between the s'd brook and Danbury road, and from 
s'd Rock to run North sixty eight degrees, Eastwardly eighty six rods to 
a mass of stones, then South twenty-two degrees, Eastwardly, one hun- 
dred and thirteen rods to a white oak sappling. marked, standing on the 

1 aforementioned North bounds line of Fairfield, then by s'd line one hun- 
dred and forty rods up to the South East corner of s'd Nash, his one 
hundred acres, Danbury road being allowed in above measure of six rods 
wide, and the hiway by the Township's line of six rods wide, and whereas 
the s'd Samuel Couch, and Thomas Nash, have humbly desired that they 
may have a particular grant of s'd Governor and Company made (by 
Patent) imto them, their heirs and assigns for the same land bounded, 
butted and described, under the seal of the s'd Colony, know ye therefore, 
that the Go^'ernor and Company of the s'd Colony, in pursuance, and by 
virtue of the powers granted unto them by our late Sovereign Lord, King 
Charles the Second of blessed memoiy, in, and by his Alajestie's letters 
patent under the great seal of England bearing date the three and twen- 
tieth day of April, in the fourteenth year of his s'd Majestie's Reign, have 
given and granted, and by these presents, for them their heirs and suc- 
cessors do give, grant, ratifie, and confirm unto them the s'd Samuel 
Couch and Thomas Nash, their heirs and assigns forever, all the s'd 
piece or parcell of land containing one hundred acres be the same more 
or less, butted and bounded as afores'd, and all and singular, the woods, 
timber, under woods, lands, waters, brooks, ponds, fishings, fowlings, 
mines, minerals and precious stones, upon or within the s'd piece or 
parcell of land, or every or any part thereof. To have and to hold the 
as afores'd, and all and singular, the rights, members, hereditaments and 
appurtenances of the same, and the reversion or reversions, remainder or 
remainders, — profits, privileges whatsoever, of and in the s'd piece or 
parcell of land or ever)'- or any part thereof. To have and to hold the 
s'd one hundred acres of land hereby granted with all and singular, its 
appurtenances unto them the s'd Samuel Couch and Thomas Nash, their 
heirs and assigns to and for their own proper use, benefit, and behoof 
from the day of the date hereof, and from time to time, and at all times 
forever here after, as a good, sure, lawful, absolute, indefeasible estate of 
Inheritance in Fee simple, without any condition, limitation, use, or other 
thing to alter, change, or make void the same. To be holden of our 
Sovereign Lord, King George, his heirs and successors, as of his Majes- 
tie's Manor of East Greenwich, in the county of Kent, in the Kingdom 
of England, in free and common soccage and not in cappitee, nor by 
Knight service ; they yielding and paying therefor to our Sovereign Lord 
the King, his heirs and successors forever, only the fifth part of all the 



8 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

oar of Gold and Silver, which from time to time, and at all times here- 
after shall be gotten, had or otherwise obtained ; in lieu of all rents, ser- 
vices, duties and demands whatsoever according to charter. In witness 
whereof, we the s'd Governor and Company have caused the Seal of the 
s'd Colony to be hereunto affixed, the fourteenth day of May, Anno 
George, Magna Brittannia;, &c., Annoque Domini, 1723. 

G. Saltonstall, 

Governor. 
" By order of ,the Governor, 

Hezekiah Wyllys, 

Secretary." 

Subsequently Captain Couch purchased of the Indians a tract of land 
lying in Lonetown, contiguous to the estate of Mr. John Read, and which 
a few years later he sold to that gentleman. The deed was given by 
Chickens, and some of its provisions caused considerable trouble to the 
colonists in later years. This deed is as follows : 

" Know all men whom it may concern that I Chicken an Indian Sag- 
gamore living between Fairfield, Danbury, Ridgefield and Newtown, at 
a place called Lonetown in the county of Fairfield in the Colony of Con- 
necticut, in New England, for and in consideration of twelve pounds, 
six shillings, already paid unto me by Samuel Couch of Fairfield, hus- 
bandman, have given, granted, bargained, sold, confirmed, and firmly 
made over unto said Samuel Couch, his heirs and assigns forever, all the 
lands, lying, being and situate between the aforesaid towns of Danbury, 
Fairfield, Newtown, and Ridgefield, except what has been by letters 
patent from the Governor and Company of this Colony of Connecticut 
made over unto any person or persons or for any particular or public use. 
To have and to hold unto the said Samuel Couch, and to his heirs and 
assigns forever the aforesaid granted and described lands or unpatented 
premises, with all the privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging, 
or any manner of way appertaining, affirming myself to be the true owner, 
and sole proprietor of said land and have just, firm, and only rfghl; to 
dispose of the same. Reserving in the ivhole of the same, liberty for 
myself and my heirs to hunt, fish and fowl upon the land and in the 
waters, and further reserving for myself, my children, and grand children 
and their posterity the use of so much land by my present dzvelling house 
or zvigzvam as the General Assembly of the Colony by themselves or a 
Committee indifferently appointed shall judge necessary for my or their 
personal improvement, that is to say my Children, children's children and 
posterity, furthermore. I the said Chickens do covenant, promise, and 
agree, to and with the said Samuel Couch, that I the said Chickens, my 
heirs, executors, and administrators, the said described lands and bar- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 9 

gained premises, unto the said Samuel Couch his heirs etc. against the 
claims and demands of all manner of persons whatever, to warrant and 
forever by these presents defend. In confirmation of the above premises 
I the said Chickens set to my hand and seal this i8th day of February 
Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and twenty four five Annoque 
Regis, etc." 

his 

Chickens^ X Saggamore. 

mark 

But the proprietors of Redding could not long rest satisfied with the 
sale that had placed in the hands of two men nearly all the unoccupied 
lands lying in the "peculiar," and in 1725 made a second and, so far as 
appears, unsuccessful attempt to reverse the former decision of the Court. 
This attempt took the shape of a petition, and was as follows : 

" To the Honorable the General Court to be holden at Hartford on the 
Second Thursday of May, 1725. 

THE EARNEST PRAYER 

Of the inhabitants, and of those that have farms in a certain tract of land 
lying between Fairfield and Danbury, Newtown and Richfield, with 
whom the Proprietory of a certain division of Land in Fairfield im- 
portunately joins — 

" Whereas the Honorable General Assembly of this Colony hath in 
several of their Sessions, been pleased out of their great goodness & 
generosity to give unto some of your humble Petitioners & to others 
of them to sell certain Parcells of Land between the aforesaid towns & 
many of your Petitioners that they might get a comfortable maintenance 
& thereby be better able to serve their country have removed from their 
former habitations with great families of Children unto sd Land where 
we by ye blessing of God on our Industry have (passed) through (the) 
many difficulties that generally attend such new & Wooden Habitations 
and have now yet to go through, which are by us insuperable — but re- 
flecting upon your Honor's accustomed Goodness, ready protection, and 
willing encouragement towards all such that have been under ye like 
circumstances as we now are, makes us far from despairing of Living 
like rational Creatures and Christians in a very few years, and under our 
present Circumstances we have often the neighboring Ministers preach- 
ing ye word of God to us, and when your Honors shall be pleased to 
grant this our earnest & necessary request our number of Inhabitants 
will immediately be greatly renewed & we soon able to obtain a Minister 
& give him an honorable support — and that is to grant the vacant land 
that lies in slips and pieces between ye Land already given and sold to 



lO HISTORY OF REDDING. 

your Petitioners to lye for a perpetual Comon for ye good of ye Parish : 
otherwise your poor Petitioners hving at a great distance from any 
place where the public worship of God is attended, must be obliged and 
their Posterity after them to be soon as the Hathen are — without the 
outward and ordinary means of Salvation, the Thought of which makes 
us now most importunately address your Honors with this our Request 
making no doubt but yt ye desire your Honors have & the great care 
you have always taken to promote & encourage Religion — will also now 
be moved to grant your poor Petitioners their Request, it being no more 
than your Honors have often done even unto every new Plantation, many 
of which are not nor never will be comparable unto this. Your Honors, 
granting us this our Request, and it will be as we humbly conceive the 
most profitable way for ye good of this Colony to dispose of ye land 
for a perpetual comon, for ye good of a Parish than any other way what- 
soever: for a flourishing and large Parish such as we are assured this 
will make will soon pay more into ye Public Treasury than the whole of 
the Land would do if it were now to be sold : and not only so, but your 
poor Petitioners & their Posterity preserved from Heathenism & Infidel- 
ity: for if your Honors should not grant the Land for a common for the 
good of a Parish your poor Petitioners — the most of us at least, must be 
shut within the compass of our own land, & cant possibly get ofif unless 
we trespass, or gain the shift yt the birds of the air have, neither to 
market nor meeting & we & our Posterity forever unable to have a set- 
tled Minister & your Honors may easily conceive how greatlv disad- 
vantageous to our Temporal Interest, which is so great an act of cruelty 
and hardship that never yet was experienced from your Honors & your 
Petitioners humbly beg they may not: but yt they may be sharers with 
their neighbors in your Honor's thoughtful care and regard for them — 

"And if your Honors in their Prudence and Wisdom shall think it 
best to sell the aforesaid Land your Petitioners humbly beg they may 
have the first offer of it, who are always ready to give as much as any 
shall or will let it lye for a perpetual Common, & your humble Petition- 
ers beg- and most earnestly desire the Land may not be sold from their 
doors or confirmed to any yt pretend they have bought it : for whatever 
pretended sale there has been made thereof already we humbly conceive 
that it was not with the proper Power & Legality that it ought to be 
confirmed: and as for its being purchased of the Indian (who both Eng- 
lish and Indian acknowledge has a good Indian title to it viz. Chicken), 
is by what we can learn by the Indian himself & ye circumstances of, a 
sligh peice of policy & we fear Deceit, ye latter of which the Indian con- 
stantly affirms it to be, for his design as he saith, and being well ac- 
quainted with him, living many of us near him have great reason to be- 
lieve him, was to sell but a small Quantity, about two or three hundred 



HISTORY OF REDDING. I I 

acres, but in ye deed ye whole of the land is comprehended, which when 
the Indian heard of it he was greatly enraged, and your Petitioners 
humbly beg yt such a sale may not be confirmed, lest it prove greatly 
disadvantageous to this Colony & Cause much bloodshed, as instances of 
ye like nature have in all Probability in our neighboring Provinces — 

" Your Petitioners most earnestly &: heartily beg that your Honors 
would think on them & grant them their request, & your Petitioners as 
in duty bound shall ever pray — 

John Read, Will'm Hill, 

Thomas Williams, Dan'll Crofoot, 

Stephen Morehouse, Ebenezer Hull, 

Benjamin Hambleton, Asa Hall, 

Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Meeker, 

Moses Knapp, Dan'l Lyon, 

Nathan Lyon, Thomas Hill, 

Benajah Hall, George Hull. 

"And we, ye Proprietors of a certain Division of Land in Fairfield 
called ye Longlots most heartily join with your Honor's above Petition- 
ers in their needful request to you, & as we your humble petitioners be- 
ing well acquainted with the circumstances of them — ^they being our 
Children Friends & Neighbors & concerned greatly for their welfare do 
earnestly beg that your Honors would consider how melancholy a thing 
it is, that these poor people should live destitute of the means of grace 
for want only of your small encouragement which to give them would 
not only be most certainly very pleasing to Almighty God but would 
likewise enrich this Colony if a large & Rich Parish will any ways con- 
tribute thereto, & as your Petitioners Land runs to & adjoyns to ye afore- 
said Vacant Land, We for the good of a Parish, thereby to advantage 
your above poor Petitioners are willing & very ready to give in Two 
miles of our land adjoining to the afores'd Vacant Land to be within the 
Parish ; & we are assured if your Honors would grant the afores'd Land 
to be for a Comon there soon would be a Flourishing Parish ; & being 
so well acquainted with the Circumstances of the above Petitioners that 
we cant but earnestly & Pathetically entreat your Honors to grant their 
Request. 

" & your Petitioners as in Duty bound shall ever Pray" : 

Moses Dimon, Joseph Wilson, 

John Hide, John Wheeler, 

Theo. Hill, John Sturges, 

Cornelius Hull, Joseph Wheeler, 

Elizabeth Burr, Thomas Sanford, 

Jona Sturgis, John Morehouse, 



12 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



John Smith, 
Thad's Burr, 
Andrew Burr, 
Samuel Wakeman, 
Samuel Squires, 

EZEKIEL SaNFORD, 

Robert Turkey, Jr., 



Joseph Rowland, 
William Hill, 
Nathan Gold, 
John Gold, 
Robert Silliman, 
Daniel Morehouse. 



The settlement of Georgetown seems to have been begun at about 
the same time as the other portions of the town, though the present vil- 
lage has had but a short existence. 

The first settlers in that section seem to have been Benjamin and 
Isaac Rumsey, one of whom lived in a house that stood in the old orchard 
east of the late Aaron Osborne's, and the other near the site of the home- 
stead formerly owned by Mr. S. M. Main. As early as 1721, Robert 
Rumsey, of Fairfield, bought of John Applegate a large tract of land 
located in vvhat is now the village of Georgetown. In 1724 he willed 
this land to his three sons, Benjamin, Isaac, and Robert. Benjamin and 
Isaac were actual settlers on this tract, and the former's estate was in- 
ventoried and distributed in 1744. 

The earliest settlers located their houses on the three fertile ridges 
that now form the most striking as well as beautiful features of our 
landscape. The valleys were avoided, as being literally in the shadow of 
death from the miasms which they engendered ; the hills, according to 
the early writers, were open, dry, and fertile, and, being comparatively 
healthful, were in almost all cases selected as sites for the infant settle- 
ments. At that day they were covered, like the valleys, with continuous 
forests of oak, chestnut, hickory, and other native woods, from which 
every autumn the Indians removed the underbrush by burning, so that 
they assumed the appearance of natural parks : Indian paths wound 
through the forest, often selected with so much engineering skill as to be 
followed later by the highways of the settlers. There were "long-drawn 
aisles and fretted vaults" in these verdant temples, nooks of outlook, and 
open, sunny glades, which were covered with tufts of long coarse grass ; 
groves of chestnut and hickory afforded shelter to whole colonies of 
squirrels — black, gray, and red. Other game was abundant. Deer, 
wild turkeys, water fowl, quail, partridges, an occasional bear, and, in 
the autumn, immense flocks of wild pigeons darkened the air with their 
numbers. Panthers were seen rarely; wolves were abundant, and the 
otter and beaver fished and builded in the rivers. Both tradition and 
the written accounts agree in ascribing to the rivers an abundance of 
fish; Little River is especially mentioned as being the favorite home of 
the trout, and tradition asserts that scarcely four generations ago they 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



15 



were so abundant in that stream that the Indian boys would scoop them 
up in the shallows with their hands. 

According to tradition, the three first houses in the town were built 
nearly at the same time. One was in Boston district, where the late Noah 
Lee's house now stands, the second in the centre, on the site of John Nick- 
erson's present residence, and the third in Lonetown, built by Mr. John 
Read, and which occupied the site of Mr. Henry Dimon's present 
residence. It is related of the lady of the house in the Boston district, 
that, becoming frightened one day at the conduct of a party of Indians 
who entered her house bearing an animal unmentionable to ears polite, 
which they ordered her to cook, she seized her babe, and fled with it two 
miles through the forest path to her nearest neighbor at the Centre, ar- 
riving there safely, though breathless and exhausted. It is fair to as- 
sume, however, that erelong neighbors were nearer. Settlers began to 
flock in from Stratford, Fairfield, and Norwalk; several families moved 
here from Ridgefield and Danbury, and the settlement began to assume 
quite the appearance of a populous community. It is not, however, until 
1723 that we get any authentic record of the names of the inhabitants 
or of their entire number. In that year a petition was presented to the 
General Court praying that the settlement might be constituted a parish ; 
and which bears the signatures of twenty-five of the planters or settlers 
of Redding. This invaluable paper has been preserved in the State 
Archives at Hartford, and is as follows : 

" May 9th, 1723. At a General Court in Hartford. 

" To the Hon hie the Govnr, Assistants and Deputies in Gen' II Court 
Assembled. 

" To this Hon'ble Court yr hon'rs most humble pet'rs hereunto sub- 
scribing, settlers and well wishers to the settlement of a plantation be- 
tween Fairfield and Danbury, Humbly Shew, That there is a Tract of 
land lying between Fairfield and Danbury, Ridgefield and Newtown and 
without all ye claims of the largest pretenders of those towns, contain- 
ing about two miles wide, north and south, and six miles long, East and 
West, mostly laid out in particular farms, so that when the farms that 
casually interfere on others are made up, there will not be one hundred 
acres of any value left in the whole. 

" On these farms are one half dozen housen set up, and many more 
going to be set up, and therefore we humlbly conceive it is of great neces- 
sity for ye use of them, that are come and coming, and for ye incourage- 
ment of others to come, to take some prudent care for the establishment 
of Divine service in that place. That forasmuch as the distance from 
this land to Fairfield church measures about fourteen miles or better, 
that is the part on which will certainly be most of the inlargement made, 



^4 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



and on that side the bounds of those lands uncertain; for the grant of 12 
miles from the sea given to Fairfield, as far as we can learn has never 
yet been measured, as it ought long since to have been done. Your 
hon'rs pet'rs therefore humbly pray that a com'tee liiay be appointed to 

measure out the twelve miles granted to Fairfield from the and put 

the vacant land, if any shall then appear into the hands of a Com'tee of 
ye Court to be dealt out to such as will settle on and improve the same, 
at such price as will bear ye charge of ye Com'tee therein, first laying- 
out a farm of 200 acres for ye ministry, 200 for a school, and as much 
for the first minister that shall settle there, and annex the whole to the 
town of Fairfield. Settling the bounds of the parish to comprehend so 
much of the west end of ye long lots of Fairfield as may make it near 
square at ye discretion of ye Com'tee upon ye view of it when ye pro- 
prietors of the long lots shall settle their end they may pay their dues 
there (if they will not be so good as to fling up the west end to a public 
use, which vi'ould doubtless be their private advantage also.) 

" Yr hon'rs most humble pet'rs, 

Nathan Picket, Thomas Williams, 

Gershom jMorehouse, Asa Hall, 

John Hall, Joshua Hull, 

Francis Hall, David Crofut, 

Robert Chauncey, Jno. Read, 

Wolcott Chauncey, Isaiah Hull, 

Daniel * Moses Knapp, 

William Hill, Jr., Benjamin Sturges, 

Phillip Judd, Sam'l Hall, 

Nathan Adams, John Read, 2d, 

Stephen Morehouse, Burgess Hall, 

Benjamin Fayerweather, Isaac Hall. 
Thomas Bailey, 

Fairfield, as was to be expected, opposed the petition, and her potent 
influence defeated the measure, and although it was agitated year by year 
it was not until 1729 that the petitioners eflfected their object, and the 
little settlement blossomed into the dignity of a parish. 

The action of the General Court constituting it a Parish is thus 
recorded in the Colonial Records, vol. vii, pp. 231-2: 

" Upon the memorial of John Read, in behalf of himself and the rest 
of the inhabitants of Lonetown, Chestnutt Ridge, and the peculiar be- 
tween Fairfield and Danbury, shewing to this Assembly, the great diffi- 
culty they labor under in attending on the publick worship of God, and 

* Illegible. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. I 5 

the forwardness of the town of Fairfield to encourage them to set up the 
publick worship of God among themselves, by conceding that two miles 
of the rear end of their long lots be added to them, in order to the mak- 
ing them a parish, and praying this Assembly that they may be allowed 
10 be a society for the worship of God, with the privileges usually grant- 
ed to such societies or parishes, and that said society or parish may com- 
prize those lands that lie encirculed betwixt the townships of Fairfield, 
Danbury, Newtown and Ridgefield, together with the aforesaid two 
miles of Fairfield long lots; and that they may have remitted to them 
their country rate during the pleasure of this Assembly ; and that all 
the lands aforesaid may be taxed by the order of said Assembly, and that 
said parish may be annexed to Fairfield, and that it be named Redding. 
This Assembly grants that the said Lonetown, Chestnutt Ridge and the 
peculiar tiiereof, be a society or parish by themselves, and to have all the 
privileges usually granted to societies or parishes, and that said society 
or parish shall comprize all those lands that lie encirculed betwixt the 
townships of Fairfield, Danbury, Newtown, and Ridgefield, together with 
two miles of the rear end of Fairfield long lots. Furthermore this As- 
sembly doth remit to them their country rate for four years, excluding 
those only who decline to joyn with them for what is prayed for, of being 
released of country tax ; and that all the laid out, unimproved lands 
within the limits of said parish be taxed at six shillings a hundred acres 
per year for four years, and that the money raised thereby be improved 
for the defraying the ministerial charges among them in that place ; and 
that said parish be named Redding." 



CHAPTER 11. 

Redding as a Parish. 

The parish history of Redding covers a space of thirty-eight years, 
and for this period the only materials we have for our history — except a 
few entries in the records of the colony — are found in the record book 
of the First Church and Society. These records seem to have been kept 
with the most pitiless brevity; only the barest details were set down, 
and if one desires more than the dry facts of this era, he must draw on 
his imagination for material. During this period events happened of the 
greatest mom'ent to the colony. Three of the terrible French and Indian 
wars occurred, to which Redding contributed her full share of men and 
money, although Fairfield received the credit. Then there were con- 
stant alarms of Indians on the border — there were hunting and explor- 



1 5 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

ing parties into the wilderness, under the guidance of the friendly In- 
dians, and the usual incidents of pioneer life ; all of whic'h would have 
been vastly entertaining to the men of to-day, and which a hundred years 
ago might have been taken down from the lips of the actors themselves, 
but which has passed away with them forever. Things spoken vanish, 
while things written remain, and the unfriendliness to the pen, of the 
early settlers, has entailed a sad loss upon their descendants. It is evi- 
dent, however, that this was the busiest period in the history of the town. 
The men were abroad in the clearings from morn till night, felling the 
trees, burning, ploughing, sowing, and reaping, or building churches, 
school-houses, mills, highways, and bridges. The women remained in 
the rude cottages, preparing the simple food, carding and spinning wool, 
weaving it into cloth, fashioning the homely garments of linsey-woolsey 
and home-spun, and rearing their large families of rosy, healthful chil- 
dren. This is the picture in the barest outline; the imagination of the 
leader will fill it out at pleasure; but, as before said, for our details — 
acknowledged facts — we must turn to the quaint and musty records of 
the Society. 

The first Society meeting was held June 5th, 1729, — less than a month 
after the parish was organized. A fuller account of this meeting will 
be found in the history of the First Church and Society. The three first 
committee-men of the parish, elected at this meeting, were John Read, 
George Hull, and Lemuel Sanford. At this time, too, the "places for 
setting up warnings for Society meetings" were determined on as fol- 
lows : " In the lane by Ebenezer Hull, and a Chestnut tree by Mr. John 
Reads, and a post set up by Moses Knaps." These were the first sign- 
posts in the town. Ebenezer Hull's house I am unable to locate. Mr. 
John Read's house has already been located. Mr. Knap lived probably 
where James Delany now lives. 

The next February a parish rate or tax of 2d. 2 far. on the pound was 
laid, and John Hull was appointed the first tax-collector ; he received for 
gathering the rate fourteen shillings. The next year, February 23d, 
1 730- 1 » the rate had risen to gd. on the pound, and John Read appears as 
collector. The next year, 1732, the first "pound" was built by Mr. John 
Read, near his house, and at a Society meeting held January 25th, 1732, 
he was appointed "key-keeper." May 8th, 1732, they petitioned the 
General Court to have their north-west corner bounds settled, Captain 
Couch bearing the charges. The same meeting they voted "that there 
shall be but one sign -post in this society," and voted that this sign-post 
should be by the meeting-house, which had been built the preceding year 
on the common. Mr. Hun, the first minister, was settled early in 1733, 
and the rates that year rose to the high figure of one shilling on the 
pound. A very important entry appears on the records of a meeting 



HISTORY OF REDDING. I 7 

leld October 17th, 1734, wherein Stephen Burr and Thomas Williams 
vere appointed a committee to the County Court to desire the court to 
hoose a committee to lay out the county road from Chestnut Ridge to 
''airfield town. This road was probably the first ever laid out through 
he town, and passed thiough Lonetown, the Centre, and Sanford town, 
.nd thence nearly direct to Fairfield. 

December loth, 1735. — Stephen Burr was appointed a committee to 
JO to the County Court, and desire them to send a committee to lay out 
lecessary highways in that part of the parish above the long lots. 

January 26th, 1737. — "Joseph Sanford and Samuel Sanford weie ap- 
)ointed a committee to take charge of the parsonage money belonging to 
aid parish, giving a receipt to said parish, and to let the same at their 
liscretion, and to the best advantage, taking double security in land, and 
lot to let less than fifty pounds to one man, and for no longer time than 
ive years, and said committee shall be accountable to the parish commit- 
ee for the interest of said money, and also at the period of abovesaid 
erm of five years, for the principal." 

December 26th, 1737. — It was "voted to have a parish schole, voted 
o maintain s'd schole by a parish rate voted that John Read, Joseph 
Lees. Joseph Sanford, John Hull, Matthew Lion, Stephen Morehouse, 
md Daniel Lion, shall be a com'tee for s'd schole, also that s'd schole 
•)hall be divided into three parts, that is to say, five months in that quar- 
er called the Ridge, and five months in the west side of the parish near 
he mill, and two months at Lonetown, understanding that the centre of 
division is the meeting hous, and likewise that Stephen Burr belongs to 
he west side." Thus was established the first school. Subsequent ac- 
tion of the parish in this direction will be found in the chapter on Schools. 

At the above meeting, John Read, Esq., was chosen to represent the 
iociety, "to pray for to be relest from paying country rates." The action 
5f the General Court on this petition is given in Colonial Records, vol. 
>iii, p. 176, as follows: "Upon the memorial of the Presbyterian so- 
iety in the parish of Reading in Fairfield County setting forth to this 
\ssembly their low circumstances, and praying a remission of their 
:ountr\' tax : this Assembly do grant unto the said society their country 
ax for the space of four years next coming." 

It wnll be remembered that the bill organizing the parish in 1729 ex- 
empted it from country rates for four years. In 1733 the Assembly 
ranted them a further release of four years, and also imposed a "tax 
)f three shillings per one hundred acres, on all unimproved lands laid 
Kit in said society for the space of four years, to be exclusive of those 
ands belonging to persons of the episcopal persuasion (who) by our 
aw are discharged from paying taxes foV the suppoit of the ministry 
illowed bv the laws of this Colonv.'' 



ig HISTORY OF REDDING. 

When the next quadrenniuni began in 1741, the parish seems to have 
been on a better financial footing, and no further taxes were remitted. 
Apropos to the above, it may be remarked that in 1737 the parish rates 
had risen to is. id. on the pound. Continuing our extracts from the 
parish records, we find at a meeting held August 22d, 1738, that "it was 
voted to try for town privileges in s'd Society," and Stephen Burr was 
chosen agent "to see if the town (/. c. Fairfield) will consent that s'd 
Society shall have town privileges." 

This entry gives a hint of the rapid growth of the settlement, and of 
the energy and enterprise of its inhabitants. There were many reasons 
why they desired a separation: Fairfield was fourteen miles distant, 
and the interests of the two were distinct; then they must go to Fairfield 
to vote, to pay taxes, and to record deeds and conveyances. They could 
not even have their necessary highways laid out without the consent of 
that town ; hence we find them making early and persistent efforts for 
town privileges, so effectually opposed, however, by the mother town, 
that it was not until twenty-nine years after that the town was organized. 

In this year, 1739, the place for putting" up warnings for the society's 
meetings was changed from Umpawaug to the mill-door. In the vote 
establishing a school in 1737. reference is made to the mill, and it is evi- 
dent that it was erected at a very early date. The miller and the black- 
smith were very necessary artisans in a new settlement, and grants of 
land were in many cases made to induce them to settle ; if such was the 
fact in Redding, no record of it remains. According to tradition, the 
first miller was Jabez Burr, and the first mill stood on the Saugatuck, 
near the present dwelling of Ezekiel Burr, a short distance above where 
the Nobbs Crook road crosses the stream. 

October ist, 1740, it was voted to try and get liberty to have the north 
of Redding set oft" for a town, and in December "to have a pound erected 
on the highway southwest of Ebenezer Ferry's barn provided he will 
build it on his own charge," also voted tliat "Ebenezer Ferry be key 
keeper of the pound and have the profits of it." This was the second 
pound erected in the parish, the first being at ^Ir. John Read's. In 
1 741 they again voted to ask the consent of the town, that "we may have 
town privileges." 

No further entries of importance appear until 1746, when Joseph 
Sanford was appointed agent for the parish to "petition the Superior 
Court now sitting in Fairfield to appoint a committee to lay out highways 
through the lands granted to Capt. Couch and Company in s'd parish" 
(these lands were in Umpawaug). In 1747 a list of the parish officers 
is given. They were as follows: Lemuel Sanford. selectman; Adam 
Clark, constable; Daniel Meeker, David Knapp, grand-jurymen; Thomas 
Taylor, James Gray, James Morgan. Joseph Hawley, Joseph Bradley, 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



19 



Jabez Burr, surveyors of highway ; Ebeuezer Couch, Thomas Taylor, 
listers; William Burritt, John Mallory, tithing men; Lieutenant Stephen 
Burr, Joseph Hawley. fence viewers ; Allen Lee, key-keeper for the 
pound. 

January 23d, 1749, it was voted that ''Ephraim Jackson shall procure 
a copy of the doings of the General Assembly concerning hig'hways in 
the country in this parish," and at the same time complaint was made 
, against Daniel Deane, the Society's collector for the year previous, for 
his "mismanagement'' in collecting the rate, and it was voted "that the 
committee shall prosecute him in case he shall not satisfy them." This 
action seems to have been carried to T^Ir. Deane at once, for he the next 
I day makes this humble apology- : 

Redding, January 24, 1749. 
" To Mr. Jehu Burr, Mr. Stephen Bctts, and Mr. Samuel Sanford, Com- 
mit ee men for said Redding: 
" Gentlemen, I understand you have declared that there is some 
mismanagement in the rate that I have to gather in the year 1748, and 
you seem to think that I have done the same, and if you insist upon it. 
I desire your forgiveness : in so doing yon will much oblige your hum- 
ble servant. 

" Daniel Deane." 

In 1754 the parish again applied for town privileges without success, 
and again in 1757 with a like result. 

The next attempt in 1766 was successful, and the Assembly of 1767 
passed the long-desired act of incorporation. 

It will be noticed that liothing is said in the records concerning the 
tribe of Indians inhabiting the parish, but from other sources we learn 
that quite important changes had taken place among them. Their chief, 
Chickens, after causing the settlers no little trouble concerning the deeds 
which he had given them, had been induced in 1749 to remove with most 
of his tribe to Scattacook, in New Alilford, and there were now but a 
few scattered families remaining in the town. No less than three peti- 
tions of Chickens, complaining of the injustice of the settlers, are pre- 
served in the Colonial Records. The first, presented to the General 
Court of May. 1735, asked that in accordance with the provisions of his 
deed to Samuel Couch in 1725, the Assembly would appoint a committee 
to lay out to him, his children, children's children, and their posterity, so 
much land near his wigwam as they should deem necessar}'- for his and 
their personal improvement ; and the Assembly appointed such a com- 
mittee. 

No report of the action of this committee is preserved in the archives ; 
but ten years later, in 1745, Chickens again petitioned the Assembly to 



20 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

appoint a committee to view his lands for the same purpose, and the As- 
sembly appointed such a committee "to repair to and upon said land, 
and having due regard to said deed of conveyance, with the savings and 
reservations therein contained, to survey and by proper meets and bounds 
set out for, and to the use of the memorialist and his children, such and 
so much of said lands as they shall be of opinion— (on hearing all parties 
or persons therein concerned) — ought to be allowed and set out to said 
memorialist and his children. The third and last memorial, presented in 
1749, is a very interesting document, and is given in full. 

" The memorial of Capt. Chicken alias Sam. Mohawk of Reading in 
Fairfield county, shewing to this Assembly that in his deed formerly- 
made to Capt. Samuel Couch, late of Fairfield, deceased, of his land lying 
between the township of said Fairfield, and Danbury, Ridgefield and 
Newtown, he had reserved to himself so much of said land as a com- 
mittee, appointed by this Assembly, should judge should be sufficient 
for himself, his children and posterity, for their personal improvement, 
which said reserve has since been set out by proper meets and bounds in 
two pieces, containing in the whole about one hundred acres as per the 
surveys thereof may appear, reference thereunto being had : and showing 
also that John Read, Esq., late of Boston deceased, l;ad surveyed, and 
laid out to him two hundred acres of land by the appointment of this 
Assembly, at a place called Scattacook bounded as in the survey thereof 
on record : and also shewing that the land aforesaid, laid out to the said 
John Read, Esq., is much more convenient and advantageous for him, 
the said Chicken, being well situated for fishing and himting, and that 
he had made and executed a deed of exchange of his aforesaid hundred 
acres, lying in two pieces as aforesaid in the parish of Reading to the 
said John Read Esq. and to his heirs, which said deed bears date October 
nth, A. D. 1748, and in consideration thereof did receive of the said John 
Read Esq, a deed bearing date the day aforesaid well executed to him 
the said Chicken and to his heirs by his attorney John Read Esq. of said 
Reading, being fully authorized thereunto, of the aforesaid two hundred 
acres ; praying this Assembly that said deeds, executed as aforesaid, may 
be allowed of, ratified, and be admitted as good evidence in the law for 
conveying and fixing the title to the several pieces of land aforesaid." 

This petition the Assembly granted, and Chickens and his tribe soon 
after removed to the reservation at Scattacook. His grandson, Tom 
Warrup, however, remained in Redding, as will be more fully related. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 21 



CHAPTER 111. 

Town History. 

The Act of the General Assembly incorporating the town was as fol- 
lows: 

^*An Act for making and forming the Parish of redding into a 
DISTINCT Town by themselves. 

''Whereas this Assembly are informed that the Parish of Redding 
in the northwesterly part of the township of Fairfield is very remote from 
the main body of that town, and that tliey are by their situation almost 
entirely prevented from attending the publick meetings of said town, and 
that they suffer very great inconveniences thereby, and that for them 
longer to continue as a parish of said Fairfield is very inconvenient : 
Therefore, 

"Be it enacted b}' the Governor and Council and Representatives in 
General Court assembled and by the authority of the same, That said 
Parish of Redding be and they are hereby erected, made and constituted 
.within the limits and bounds of said parish a distinct Town by themselves 
with all the liberties, privileges and immunities which by law the other 
towns in this Colony have and do enjoy, and that said new constituted 
town shall hereafter be called by the name of the Town of Redding, with 
this limitation and restriction, that but one Representative which said 
new constituted town shall at any time chuse to attend the General As- 
semblies shall be at the publick expence. 

"And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That said Town 
of Redding shall have and hold their first Town Meeting for the choice 
of their town officers for the present year some time in the month of June 
next, which meeting shall be warned by a warrant signed by any justice 
of the peace in the county of Fairfield, to be directed to some indifferent 
person to serve, which warrant shall appoint the time and place at which 
said meeting is to be held, and shall be served at least five days before 
the day appointed for the holding said meeting." 

It was passed at the May session, 1767, and a meeting was held, June 
15th, 1767, in accordance with its provisions. Colonel John Read was 
chosen Moderator. Lieutenant Stephen Mead was chosen clerk 
for the year, and the following town officers elected : Stephen 
Mead, Fphraim Jackson, Daniel Hill, selectmen ; David Lyon, Asahel 
Fitch, Daniel Hull, constables ; Benjamin Hamilton, Zalmon Read, fence 
viewers ; Peter Fairchild, Lemuel Sanford. Jr.. David Jackson, listers ; 
Thomas Fairchild, Jonathan Couch, grand- jurymen ; Gurdon Merchant, 
town treasurer: Paul Bartram. Thomas Fairchild, Eleazer Smith, Jr., 



2 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

tithing-men; Ebenezer Williams, Ebenezer Couch, pound keepers; Ger- 
s^hom .Morehouse, sealer of leather; Benjamin Meeker, Jonathan Mallory, 
sealer of weig-hts ; Ephraim Jackson, Captain Henry Lyon, and Gurdon 
Merchant, a committee to take all proper and lawful methods to clear the 
highways. The town by vote made the i>ound by Elizabeth Sanford's 
the ••Town pound," and voted "to use the school house by the old meet- 
ing house for ye place for holding ye town meetings in ye future." The 
second town meeting was held September 28th, the same year, at which 
'•it was voted and agreed that whereas the people being within one mile 
of the Southeasterly end of this Township, and in the Northwesterly end 
of the town of Fairfield, are about to petition the General Assembly to 
be held ait New Haven in October next, to be annexed to this town, we 
are willing and desirous to receive them, and that we will assist them 
to endeavor to have them annexed to this town by appointing an agent 
for that purpose," and Colonel Read was appointed such agent. Shortly 
after they began agitating the question of building a town-house, and in 
November a meeting wt.s called to provide "for the building or purchase 
of a Town house and pK>und." The first mention of a turnpike in the 
town is found in the records of a town meeting held in 1768, wherein 
(the Hig^nway Committee are instructed "to lay out a road from the 
School-'house in Lonetown, so called, east, through Col. John Read's land 
to consort with a highway lately laid out from the road that leads from 
Danbury to Fairfield, west, through Andrew Fairchild's land, to s'd 
read's land," and Colonel Read was given liberty to keep a gate at the 
west end by the school-house, "he having given land to the town." The 
same year the town offered a bounty of 3s. on every "wile cat" killed, 
and 2s. for every grown fox, and is. for every young fox. A meeting 
held September 20th, 1768, appointed a committee to act with a commit- 
tee of the Superior Court to lay out a highway in Redding from west to 
east, in rear of the long lots. This will be recognized as the road leading 
from Boston District to Hopewell, though portions of it must have been 
in use long ere this. In the records of a meeting held October 6th, 1768, 
we find a striking example of the towering ambition of the town fathers : 
this meeting appointed a committee to "present a memorial to the Gen- 
eral Assembly, praying that Redding be made a County town" Decem- 
mer 26th, 1768, the selectmen were instructed to "set the districts for the 
law books belonging to this town, and to enter the names of those persons 
in each district that hath a right by law to said books, in said books." 

Several highways were laid out during this year, and the next: one 
across Sturgis' long lot, beginning at the upright highway above Ebenezer 
Andrus' barn, "to run southerly slanting down in some suitable way until 
it comes to the cross highway Southeasterl}' from said barn." The 
county road from Danbury to Fairfield, originally laid out six rods wide, 
was reduced to four rods, and Stephen Mead, Gurdon Merchant, and 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



-O 



Lemuel Sanford were appointed a committee "to lay out the County road, 
four rods wide, exchanging where it shall be thought necessary, and all 
at the Proprietor's cost." A hig'hway was also laid out from Samuel 
Smith's, southerly to the bridge below Daniel Perry's grist-mill. 

The following interesting entry appears in the records of a meeting 
held March 6th, 1771 : "Voted and agreed, that whereas a Plan hath been 
proposed of moving to the General Assembly in May next for the erecting 
a new county, to consist of the towns of Danfoury, Newtown, Ridgefield, 
Red-ding, and New Fairfield, we are willing and desirous that said towns 
shall be erected a county, and that we will assist them to endeavor to 
have said county estabhshed.'' The committee appointed for this pur- 
pose were David Lyon, Gershom Morehouse, and James Rogers. 

In October, 1773, the General Assembly passed a resolution, ''to 
assert, and in some proper way support their claim to those lands con- 
tained within the limits and bounds of the charter of this Colony west- 
ward of the Province of New York" — an act strongl}' disapproved by 
the people at large. Town meetings were called to protest against it, 
and a convention comprising delegates from twenty-three towns met 
in IMiddletown, and adopted a petition and remonstrance to the 
General Assembly against the proposed action. Redding's atti- 
tude in the matter is shown by the following extract from the 
doings of a town meeting held March 14th, 1774: "Whereas it is 
the opinion of many of the freemen and other inhabitants of this 
Colony (and of this meeting in particular) that if ye above said Resolve 
be carried into execution it will inevitably involve the inhabitants of 
Connecticut in a long, expensive, and fruitless Litigation with Mr. Penn, 
therefore this meeting appoints and delegates Messrs. William Hawley 
and Peter Fairchild to attend a meeting to be held at Middletown on the 
last Wednesday of Instant March, to concert some Proper Methods in 
order to put a stop to so disagreeable a procedure." But the project 
of the Assembly was never carried into execution : within a few months 
an invading army was hovering about its coasts, and the sturdy, bellig- 
erent little Colony found other vents for its pugnacious spirit. 

In the Revolutionary War, to which period we are now come. Red- 
ding played an important part: her people were fully alive to the im- 
portance and direfulness of the conflict, and bore their full share of the 
burdens it imposed ; but the town records during this period refer but 
rarely, and then briefly, to the great conflict. 

The first action of the town in regard to the war is found in the rec- 
ords of a town meeting held April 2d, 1777, when a comnnittee consisting 
of Messrs. William Hawley, Zalmon Read, Thaddeus Benedict, David 
Jackson, Gershom Morehouse, Stephen Betts, Jr., William Heron, and 
Daniel Mallory was appointed "to hire a number of Soldiers to serve in 
the Continental army." It was also voted that the "sum or sums the 



2A HISTORY OF REDDING. 

said Committee promise to, or do pay, to those soldiers that do enhst 
titemselves as soldiers to serve in said army, as a botmty over and above 
what the Government bounty is, shall be paid by way of -town rates, and 
the Selectmen are ordered and desired to make a rate to collect the 
money." In the records of the same meeting is the following significant 
entry: "Hezekiah Sanford, Seth Sanford, Daniel Mallory, S. Samuel 
Smiith, William Hawley, Stephen Betts, Jr., Jonathan Couch, Stephen 
Gold, and Hezekiah Read, are appointed a committee to take care of the 
families of those soldiers that are in the service of their country" ; and 
this also, under date of May 5'th, 1777: "David Jackson, Seth Sanford, 
Thaddeus Benedict and John Gray are chosen Selectmen in addition to, 
and to supply the place of Stephen Betts and James Rogers taken pris- 
oners by the enemy in their expedition to Danbury." 

The above-named gentlemen were released when the British re-em- 
barked at Norwalk. September 18th, 1777, it was voted "that the in- 
junction or requesit from his Excellency the Governor and the Council 
of Safety be complied with, and that the Committee procure and get 
double the articles if they can, mentioned in the Governor's said request, 
and that said Committee be paid by the town, the extra charges that the 
said articles may cost more than they are set at in said request." Alarch 
23, 1778, David Jackson, Zalmon Read, and Ephraim Robbins were ap- 
pointed a committee to provide clothing for the army. 'May 8th, 1778, 
Asahel Fitch appears as a committee, "to take care and provide as the 
law directs for Nathan Coley's family." At the same time he, with Capt. 
Zalmon Read, was appointed a committee to provade "shirts, shoes, 
stockins and other articles of clothing for the Continental soldiers." 
December 17th. 1778, another committee was appointed to care for the 
families of soldiers as follows : Nehemiah Hull for Nathan Coley's ; 
Elijah Burr for Stephen Meeker's ; Ebenezer Couch for Elias Bixby ; 
Nehemiah Sherwood and John Read for Jeremiab Ryan, and William 
Hawley for Samuel Remong. July 30th, 1779, Micayah Starr, Thaddeus 
Benedict, and Stephen PJetts were appointed a committee to prepare 
clothing for the soldiers, and a tax of 2s. on the pound was levied to pay 
for the same. Several of the records are very annoying from their in- 
coinpleteness ; the following for instance of a meeting held Septetnber 
2d, 1779: "Voted, to ratify the proceedings of the County Convention 
held Aug. loth, 1779, and to appoint a Committee to carry into effect 
what w^as recommended in the first resolve of said Convention." Not a 
word is said as to the object of the Convention, nor is any report of its 
proceedings given. From other sources, however, we learn that it was 
called to devise measures to prevent further depreciation of the papyer 
currency, and also to consider what course should be pursued in dealing 
with the Tories among them. 

No record of the proceedings of this convention, interesting and im- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 

portant as it would have been, is found. It was held ait the dwelHng- 
house of Captain Stephen Betts, on Redding Ridge, January 23d, 1780, 
the town voted to appoint a commiittee of nine ''to procure and hire nine 
soldiers to enlist into the Connecticut Line in the Continental army, for 
the town of Redding." This committee consisted of Stephen Betts, 
Ezekiel Sanford, David Jackson, Nathaniel Barlow — ^brother of the poet 
— Asahel Fitch, Hezekiah Read, Elijah Burr, Ephraim Robbins, and 
Hezekiah Sanford. The committee were also instructed "to use their 
utmost diligence to hire nine able bodied efficient men to enlist as afore- 
said, during the war or for three years, or six months, and that they en- 
list them at such sum or sums of money in any price, or such quantity 
of provisions of any kind as they shall judge reasonable and just." Six 
months later, June 26th, they voted to instruct their committee to give 
to each soldier they enlist for six months, ten bushels of wheat per month 
or the value in hard money when paid, besides they shall receive the 
bounty the state offers, but the town shall receive their wages." The 
same ofifer was made to the drafted men. This offer was probably taken 
in the belief that the town could more readily collect the wages of the 
soMiers than they could themselves. 

November 20th, same year, it was voted, "that the town will lay a 
tax on provisions to supply their quota of provisions for the Connecticut 
Line in the Continental Army, and that a rate bill be made apportioning 
to each individual his proportion of each kind of provision to be raised, 
viz. flour, beef, and pork, according to his list for the year 1779. George 
Perry was appointed Receiver of the flour collected by the town, and 
sworn to a faithful discharge of his trust. Russell Bartlett was appoint- 
ed Receiver of pork and beef, and was also sworn. At the same meeting 
a committee was appointed "to repair to the camp and ascertain the num- 
ber of soldiers of the town now in camp." This order was several times 
repeated, but none of the reports of the committees are preserved. The 
following significant entry appears in the records of a meeting held 
February 5t]i, 1781 : "Voted not to abate assessments for purposes afore- 
said (1. e. tax, on provisions) on Enos Lee, James Morgan, Hezekiah 
Piatt, Daniel Lyon, .Vbigail Lyon, Sarah Phinney, David Knapp, James 
Gray, Abigail Morehouse, Ezekiel Hill, Andrew Fairchild, and Sarah 
Burr, who have each of them a son or sons or a son or sons in law gone 
over to the enemies of the United States." At this meeting several who 
had refused to pay the tax levied for hiring soldiers were assessed double 
rates. March 28th, 1781, Captain Gershom Morehouse and Lieutenant 
Nehemiah Hull were appointed a committee "to collect the tents belong- 
ing to this town" — probably those furnished for the winter encampment 
of the troops ; at the same time a committee was appointed "to vindicate 
our claims to the Connecticut Soldiers." April 16, 1781, it was voted 



25 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

"to divide the people into eight classes according to their several lists in 
order to raise seven soldiers, and one Light Horseman to serve for one 
year as coast guards." It was voted "that the sixth class (for procur- 
ing men to serve in the guards at Horse Neck till ye first of March next) 
shall procure a light horseman and horse, and that the tOM^n shall pay 
said class all it shall cost them more to procure a man and horse, than 
it shall cost the other seven classes on a medium." 

July 5th, same year, a tax of three pence on the pound was laid "to 
pay last year's six months men, to be paid in Silver, or Gold, or wheat 
at six shillings a bushel, and to be collected and paid to the selectmen 
before the loth of July Inst." 

The next fall. October 30th, 1781, George Perry was chosen "Receiv- 
er of Grain and flour on the half crown Tax, Benjamin IMeeker and 
Isaac Meeker to receive the grain and flour on the two sixths tax, and 
William Hawley Esq. to receive the Beef and Pork on said tax, and to 
provide casks and salt said provisions as the law directs." 

The last entry referring to the war appears August nth, 1783, some 
nine months after the Provisional Articles of Peace had been signed at 
Paris. It is as follows : " Voted that the select men of this town be 
desired to move out of this town all those persons that have been over 
and joined the enem.y, and have returned into this town, and that they 
pursue the business as fast as they conveniently can according to law." 
The selectmen on whom this task devolved were, Seth Sanford, James 
Rogers, Stephen Betts, Hezekiah Sanford, and John Gray. 

Several items that next follow are important as denoting the progress 
of events. December 18th, 1781 : "Voted, that the select men be in- 
structed to petition the General Assembly to annex this town to Dan- 
bury Probate District," and the road committee was instructed to sell 
the highway from Nobb's Crook to Captain Grays, and also the 'upright 
highway" west of Micayah Starr's, from Nathan Rumsey's to the rear 
of the long lots. 

August 9, 1782, the town appointed delegates to a County Conven- 
tion held in Greenfield "to inquire into the progress of illicit trade" : also 
a Committee of Inspection to assist the informing officers in putting the 
laws into execution. 

August nth, 1783: It was voted "that the town will set up a sing- 
ing school," and a tax of one penny on the pound was laid to pay the 
singing master. 

March 13th, 1797: "Voted not to admit Small Pox by innoculation ; 
voted to admit Small Pox by innoculation next fall." 

December 14th, 1791, a committee was appointed to apply to the 
proprietors of the mile of commons for a title to the land in Redding 
left by said proprietors for a "parade." (This "parade," familiar to all 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 27 

old inhabitants of Redding, was in the large field adjoining the Con- 
gregational parsonage now owned by Miss Dayton; it was the scene of 
many militia trainings in later days.) 

December 19th, 1792: " Voted to reduce the highway from Danbury 
to Norwalk to four rods wide, and to sell two rods." In 1795 : "Voted 
that the selectmen prosecute those persons that cut timber on the high- 
ways." 

The first town-house was built early in 1798. It stood nearly in the 
centre of the common, a few yards west of the present building. 

From the plan submitted December 27th, 1797, by the building com- 
mittee, we learn that it was "36 feet in length, and 30 feet wide, with 12 
foot posts, covered with long cedar shingles, the sides with pine." 
There was a chimney in each end, and fifteen windows with twenty lights 
in each. Peter Sanford, Ezekiel Sanford, Samuel Jarvis, Aaron San- 
ford, Andrew L. Hill, and Simon Hunger were appointed "to receive 
proposals and contract for building the aforesaid Town House." The 
builder was Daniel Perry. In 1807 there was a movement to petition the 
General Assembly, "that Redding be made the shire town of Fairfield 
County." In 1809 it Vv'as voted unanimously, " That we will prefer a 
petition to the Congress of the United States for the establishment of a 
Post Road through this town," and William Heron, Lemuel Sanford, 
and Billy Comstock were appointed to draft the petition. This was suc- 
cessful, and the first post-office in the town was shortly after established. 
It was kept in the dwelling-house of Billy Comstock, who was the first 
postmaster ; his house stood were the late Mr. Dimon Finch lived, at the 
fork of the Danbury road, and that leading to Redding Centre, z>ia 
Nobb's Crook. There are old people in town who remember this first 
post-office, and the excitement attendant upon the arrival of the weekly 
mail, carried by the great lumbering Danbury stage, which, with its 
four horses, its red-faced driver, and crowd of dusty, sweltering passen- 
gers, was the great tri-weekly event of the villages through which it 
passed. 

There is evidence that in early times the town exercised considerable 
influence in public aflfairs. In the Farmer s Journal (Danbury) for April 
8th, 1793, appears a circular letter "sent by a committee appointed to 
correspond with the different towns in the county of Fairfield," from 
Reading, as follows : 

Reading, Apr. 2, 1793. 

" Gentlemen : We are, by the inhabitants of this town, in a town 
meeting legally warned for that purpose, appointed a committee to corre- 
spond with the other towns in Fairfield County respecting the list of 
persons entered on the records of Congress, a number of whom this town 
apprehend are really undeserving. We are ordered to ask of you to adopt 



2g HISTORY OF REDDING. 

a similar modt; of appointing a committee ;to corre^^pond accordingly, and 
if by due enquiry any person, or persons shall be found to be put on the 
pension list, who arc undeserving, to adopt proper means for redress at 

a proper board. 

Signed : 

Thaddeus Benedict, 
William Heron, 
Lemuel Sanford, 
S. Samuel Smith, 
James Rogers. 

To the Selectmen of 

And in the Farmer's Chronicle (Danbury) for January 6th, 1794: 

"At a Town Meeting held in Reading, by adjournment, on the 23rd 
day of December a. d. 1793, 'Voted unanimously. That this Town will 
exert ourselves in every legal and constitutional method in our power to 
prevent the sale of the western lands at present, and to obtain a repeal 
of the act of this state appropriating the avails thereof for the support 
of the ministrv and schools in this state, as we conceive the same to be 
impolitic. And that a committee be appointed to correspond with the 
other towns in this county to effect the purpose aforesaid, and that this 
vote be sent to the committee appointed to sell those lands, with our re- 
quest that they will omit to make any contract or sale of them till the sit- 
ting of the next General Assembly.' " 

And in the records of a town meeting held April 20th, 1818 : 

"Voted, That our Representatives to the General Assembly to be hold- 
en at Haftford in May next, be, and hereby are, instructed to use their 
influence that measures be taken preparatory to forming a written con- 
stitution for the Government of this State. That it is the opinion of this 
meeting, that the State of Connecticut is without a written constitution 
of Civil Government, and w^e believe it very important for the security 
of the Civil, and Religious rights, and privileges of the Citizens, that the 
powers and authorities of the Government should be distinctly defined." 

The present town-house was erected in 1834. At a town meeting 
held March 3d, 1834, Mr. Thomas B. Fanton made a proposition "that 
he would engage to build a new Town House, same dimensions as the old 
one, of good materials, covering to be of pine, with shutters to the win- 
dows, outside of house to be painted, and the Whole inside and out, to be 
finished in a workman like manner, to be erected near the old one, on land 
belonging to the town, provided the town will g*ive him $400, and the old 
house," and engaged to save the town from any expense on account of 
materials provided by the committee to repair the old town house. This 
proposition was accepted, and John R. Hill. Gershom Sherwood, and 




Historic Houses. 
C.r.Xl'RAl. I'L-rXAM-S HKADQrARTERS. 17/8-0. 

lM-(,ni an old print of iS^h. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 29 

Aaron Burr. 2d, were appointed a committee "to superintend building 
said House." There were objections, however, to having the new house 
built on the old site, and a meetmg held shortly after voted "to relocate 
the house in the building owned by Thaddeus ]\T. Abbott recently occu- 
pied for a school house." 

But other parties objected to this plan, ai.d a third meeting was held 
before a site satisfactory to all parties could be agreed on. 

This meeting voted to locate it "on the Southeast corner of Thaddeus 
M. Abbott's homelot, fronting the public parade on the South, and on the 
west the Lonetown highway, provided that nothing in this vote interferes 
with the contract made with Thomas B. Fanton for building said house, 
and that it be no additional expense to the town." The building belong- 
ing !to Mr, Abbott which stood on this site was moved away, and the 
present town house erected in the summer of 1834. 

From this point until the opening of the civil war the records indicate 
only the usual routine of town business, and may be profitably passed 
over in order to make room for the valuable and interesting Revolutionary 
historv of the town. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Revolutionary History and Incidents. 

Two years had passed since the opening of the War of Independence 
— years of alternate victory and defeat to the colonists — when a hostile 
armament of twenty-five vessels bearing two thousand men, the flower 
of the British army, appeared off Compo, in Westport, on the Connecticut 
shore. It was the 25th of April, 1777. A few days before news had 
come to Lord Howe, commanding in New York, that a magazine of mu- 
nitions of war had been formed by the rebels in Danbury, and which 
afforded him a pretext for a descent on Connecticut — a step vvhich he 
had long meditated. The region of country covered by the proposed 
campaign had been swept of its able-bodied men, who were in the Con- 
tinental ranks keeping a careful watch on his lordship's regulars ; ])ut that 
there might be no balk in the operations, an overwhelming force of two 
thousand picked men was detailed for the expedition. For commanders, 
Howe chose a nondescript genius, one Governor Tryon, and two military 
men of ability, General Agnew and Sir William Erskine. Tryon had 
been Governor of New York ; he had the further merit of being intimately 
acquainted with Connecticut, and of being consumed w'ith an inveterate 
hatred for, and thirst for revenge on, the Yankees ; he had a special grudge 
too against Connecticut, the sturdy little colony having thwarted him in 
a variety of ways. Her dragoons had scattered the types of his news- 



-.Q HISTORY OF REDDING. 

paper organ through the streets of New York; her "Sons of Liberty" 
had plotted ag-ainst him even in his own city, and she had treated with 
contempt his proclamations inviting her to return to her allegiance, even 
printing them in her gazettes as specimens of the governor's pleasant 
humor. 

Furthermore, he was well acquainted with the country to be traversed. 
He had been as far inland as Litdifield, had probably visited Danbury, 
and had been dined and f^ted at Norwalk, Fairfield, and New Haven. 
He seems to have acted as guide to the expedition while his two advisers 
attended to its miiitary details. The troops disembarked at Compo at 
four in the afternoon, and the same day marched to Weston, about eight 
miles distant, where they encamped for the night. To oppose these troops 
there was only a militia corps of old men and boys, not equal in number 
to one half the invading force. 

Colonel Cook was in comniiand at Danbury with a company of un- 
armed militia. General Silliman at Fairfield, General Wooster at Strat- 
ford, and General Arnold at Norwalk could not muster, all told, more 
than eight hundred raw, undisciplined men. Under these circumstances 
Tryon's expedition can only be viewed as a picnic excursion into the 
country, and as such no doubt he regarded it. On the morning of the 
26th his army was early astir, and reached Redding Ridge, where the 
first halt was made, about the time that the inhabitants had concluded 
their morning meal. What transpired here is thus narrated by Mr. Hol- 
lister in his admirable "History of Connecticut," vol. ii, chap. 12 : 

"On the morning of the 26th, at a very seasonable hour, Tryon ar- 
rived at Reading Ridge, where was a small hamlet of peaceful inhabitants, 
almost every one of them patriots, and most of them farmers, who had 
crowned the high hill, where they had chosen to build their Zion, with 
a tall, gaunt church, which drew to its aisles one day in seven the people 
that dwelt upon the sides of the hills, and in the Ixjsom of the valleys, 
within the range of the summons that sounded from its belfry. By way 
of satisfying his hunger with a morning lunch, until he could provide a 
more substantial meal, he drew up his artillery in front of the weather- 
beaten edifice that had before defied every thing save the grace of God, 
and the supplications of his worshippers, and gave it a good round of 
grape and canister, that pierced its sides through, and shattered its small- 
paned windows into fragments." The only spectators to this heroic dem- 
onstration were a few women and little children, some of whom ran away 
at the sight of the red-coats, and others faced the invaders with a men- 
acing stare." 

Mr. Hollister is in the main a careful and accurate historian, but a 
due regard for the truth of history compels us to say that he was mis-' 
informed in regard to the above facts. The following account is believed 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



31 



to be correct, our principal informant being an aged inhabitant of Red- 
ding, and a competent authority : 

During the halt the main body of the troops remained under arms on 
the green in front of the church. Tryon, Agnew, and Erskine were in- 
vited into Esquire Heron's, who lived in the first house south of the 
church. Here they were hospitably entertained with cake and wine, and 
with many hopeful prognostications of the speedy collapse of the ''re- 
bellion." Across the street from the church, in a house a few yards south 
of the one now occupied by Daniel Sanford, lived Lieutenant Stephen 
Betts, a prominent patriot, and at whose house it will be remembered the 
county convention was held in 1779. A file of soldiers entered the house, 
seized him, and he was taken with them on their march. James Rogers, 
another prominent patriot, and Jeremiah Sanford, a lad of ten years, son 
of Mr. Daniel Sanford, met a like fate. The lad, we may remark, was 
carried to New York and died in the prison ships, June 28th, 1777. 
Shortly before the army resumed its march, a horseman was observed 
spurring rapidly down the Couch's Hill road toward them, and approach- 
ed within musket-shot before discovering their presence ; he then turned 
to fiy, but was shot, and severely w^ounded in the attempt. He proved 
to be a messenger from Colonel Cook in Danbury, bearing dispatches to 
General Silliman, by name Lambert Lockwood. Tryon had formerly 
known him in Norwalk. where Lockwood had rendered him a service. 
and seems to have acted on this occasion with some approach to mag- 
nanimity, as he released him on parole, and allowed him to be taken into 
a house that his wounds might be dressed. 

The statement concerning the firing into the church is a mistake, and 
I am assured that the reverse is true. It is said that the church was not 
moles'ted at all (except that a soldier with a well-directed ball brought 
down the gilded weathercock from the spire), and the fact that the rector, 
the Rev. John Beach, as well as several of its most prominent members, 
among them the Squire Heron above referred to, were most pronounced 
loyalists, strengthens the assertion. The British army, after halting an 
hour or two in the village, resumed its march to Danbury. with the cap- 
ture and burning of which the reader is no doubt acquainted. 

Meanwhile the patriots in Redding anxiously waited the approach of 
the Continental army in pursuit. At length it came in view, marching 
wearily, with dusty and disordered ranks, a little army of five hundred 
men and boys, led by Brigadier-General Silliman in person. They had 
marched from Fairfield that day, and were fully twenty-eight hours be- 
hind the foe. who was then lying drunken and disorganized at Danbury. 
A muster-roll of the little band would have shown a most pathetic ex- 
hibition of weakness. There were parts of the companies of Colonel 
Lamb's battalion of artillery, with three rusty cannon, a field-piece, and 



32 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



part of th€ artillery company of Fairfield, and sixty Continentals ; the rest 
were raw levies, chiefly old men and boys. It was eight o'clock in the 
evening when the troops arrived at Redding Ridge — an evening as dis- 
agreeable as a north-east rain-storm with its attendant darkness could 
make it. Here the troops halted an hour for rest and refreshment. At 
the expiration of that time a bugle sounded far down the street ; then the 
tramp of horsemen was heard, and presently Major-General Wooster and 
Brigadier-General Arnold, at the head of a squadron of cavalry, dashed 
into the village. 

On hearing that the I^ritish were so far ahead, it is said that Arnold 
became so enraged that he could scarcely keep his seat, and his terrible 
oaths fell on his auditors' ears like thunder-claps. Wooster at once as- 
sumed command, and the column moved forward through the mud as far 
as Bethel, where it halted for the night. At Danbury, but three miles 
distant, Tryon's force was sleeping in drunken security, and might have 
been annihilated by a determined effort, but the command was too much 
exhausted for the attempt. 

Tryon the next morning was early astir, being aware that the militia 
were closing in on him on all sides, and commenced a retreat to his ships, 
taking the circuitous route through Ridgefield. On learning this move, 
General Wooster at Bethel divided his command, one detachment under 
Generals Arnold and Silliman marching rapidly across the country and 
taking post at Ridgetiekl, while the other, commanded by himself, pressed 
closely on Tryon's rear. The succeeding fortunes of the patriots — ^how 
they met the foe at Ridgefield, how Wooster fell gallantly leading on his 
men, how Arnold performed prodigies of valor, and how the enemy were 
pursued and harassed until they gained the cover of their ships — 'has be- 
come a part of our national history, and needs no recounting. 

News that the British had landed at Compo, that they were encamped 
at Weston, and would march through Redding the next day, was conveyed 
to this town at an early hour, and occasioned the greatest consternation 
to this town at an early hour, and occasioned the greatest consternation and 
excitement. Money and valuables were hastily secreted in wells and other 
places of concealment ; horses and cattle were driven into the forests, and 
the inhabitants along the enemy's probable route held themselves in readi- 
ness for instant flight. Herod's emissaries could not have excited livelier 
emotions of terror in the hearts of Judean mothers than did Trwn's in- 
vasion in the bosoms of the mothers of Redding. He seems to have 
warred pre-eminently on women and boys. The latter especially he made 
prisoners of. and consigned to the horrible prison-ships, either holding 
them as hostages, or on the plea that they "would ver}' soon grow into 
rebels." The women of Redding had heard of this propensity, and at 
his approach gathered all the boys of thirteen and under — the older ones 
were away under arms — and conveyed them to a secluded place near the 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



33 



Forge, where they were left under the charge of one Gershom Barlow ; 
here they remained until the invader had regained his ships, provisions 
being cooked and sent in to them daily. 

Many other incidents of the invasion are current in the town. 

On receiving intelligence of the landing at Comipo, Captain Read mus- 
tered his company of militia, and forthwith marched to intercept the in- 
vaders. At a place called Couch's Rock, in Weston, they came suddenly 
upon the entire force of the enemy and were taken prisoners. Timothy 
Parsons, one of the militiamen, had a fine musket which he particularly 
valued ; this a grenadier took, and dashed to pieces on the stones, saying 
it should waste no more rebel bullets. 

Mrs. Thankful Bradley, living in Weston, near the Redding line, was 
milking by the roadside when the troops surprised her. An ofificer told 
her to remain quiet, a.nd they would not molest her. She followed his 
advice and continued milking while the entire army filed by. With the 
exception of kidnapping the lad Sanford, the British behaved with praise- 
worthy moderation during their march through Redding. No buildings 
were burned, and no such enormities committed as marked their descent 
on Fairfield and New Haven two years later. 

After their departure nothing further of a warlike nature occurred in 
the town, until the encampment in Redding in the winter of 1778-9 of 
the right wing of the Continental Army. These troops had been op- 
erating along the Hudson during the fall, and as winter approached a 
coimcil of officers decided that it should go into winter quarters at Red- 
ding, as from that position it could support the important fortress of 
West Point in case of attack, overawe the Cow Boys and Skinners of 
Westchester County, and cover the country adjacent to the Sound. Ac- 
cordingly, early in November, General Putnam arrived in Redding with 
several of his general officers to select sites for the proposed camps. Three 
were marked out: the first in the northeastern part of Lonetown, near 
the Bethel line, on land later owned by Aaron Treadwell. The second 
also in Lonetown. about a mile and a half west, on the farm of the late 
Sherlock Todd, a short distance southwest of his dwelling-house. The 
third camp was in West Redding, on the ridge lying east of Uriah Grif- 
fin's, on land now owned by him, and about a quarter of a mile north of 
Redding Station. The sites of all three camps may be easily distinguished 
by the ruins of the stone chimneys which formed one side of the log huts 
in which the troops were sheltered. The first camp was laid out with 
admirable judgment, at the foot of the rocky blufifs which fence in on the 
west the valley of the Little River.* Only a few heaps of stone mark the 
site of the second camp, which was also laid out on the southerly slope of 

♦ For a fuller account of this camp see Chapter v. 



^, HISTORY OF REDDING. 

a hill, with a stream of running water at its base. The same may be said I 
of the camp at Long Ridge. 

As to the exact location of Putnam's headquarters at this time, au- 
thorities differ, but all agree in placing it on Umpawaug Hill. Mr. Bar- 
ber, in his "Historical Collections," says it was the old house that stood 
until recently on the comer of the road leading down to Sanford's Station, 
a short distance north of Andrew Perry's present residence. Mr. Lossing, 
in his "Field Book of the Revolution," makes the same statement ; but I 
am informed by an aged resident, whose father was an officer in the Rev- 
olutionary army, and visited General Putnam at his headquarters, that 
they were in an old house that then stood between the residence of the 
late Burr Aleeker and that now occupied by Mr. Ephraim Barlow, and 
that the first-named was his guard-house. The question is one of little 
importance perhaps, except to those who demand the utmost possible 
accuracy in the statement of fact. 

Some of the officers were quartered in the house now occupied by Mrs. 
Seth Todd, then owned by Samuel Gould ; others in a house that stood on 
the site of the one formerly occupied by Sherlock Todd. General Parson's 
headquarters were on Redding Ridge. 

While the army lay at Redding several events of importance occurred, 
w'hich are worthy of narrating with some degree of particularity. The 
troops went into winter quarters this year in no pleasant humor, and al- 
most in the spirit of insubordination. This was peculiarly the case with 
the Connecticut troops. They had endured privations that many men 
would have sunk under — ^the horrors of battle, the weariness of the march, 
'Cold, hunger, and nakedness. What was worse, they had been paid in 
the depreciated currency of the times, which had scarcely any purchasing 
power, and their devoted families at home were reduced to the^ lowest 
extremity of want and wretchedness. 

The forced inactivity of the camp gave them time to brood over their 
wrongs, until at length they formed the bold resolve of marching to Hart- 
ford, and presenting their grievances in person to the Legislature then 
sitting. The two brigades were under arms for this purpose before news 
of the revolt was brought to Putnam. He, with his usual intrepidjty and 
decision of character, threw himself upon his horse and dashed down the 
road leading to his camps, never slacking rein until he drew up in the 
presence of the disaffected troops. "My brave lads," cried he, "whither 
are you going? Do you intend to desert your officers, and to invite the 
enemy to follow you into the country? Whose cause have you been 
fighting and suffering so long in — is it not your own? Have you no 
property, no parents, wives, or children? You have behaved like men 
so far — all the world is full of your praises, and posterity wih stand 
astonished at your deeds; but not if you spoil all at last. Don't you con- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 35 

iider how much the country is distressed by the war, and that your of- 
icers have not been any better paid than yourselves ? But ive all expect 
i>etter times, and that the country will do us ample justice. Let us all 
Stand by one another then, and fight it out like brave soldiers. Think 
vliat a shame it would be for Connecticut men to run away from their 
)fficers." When he had finished this stirring speech, he directed the 
icting major of brigades to give the word for them to shoulder, march 
o their regimental parades, and lodge arms, which was done ; one_soldier 
■)nly, a ringleader in the affair, was confined in the guard-house, from 
vhich he attempted to escape, but was shot dead by the sentinel on duty 
—himself one of the mutineers. Thus ended the afifair, and no further 
rouble was experienced with the Connecticut troops. 

Nothing had so much annoyed Putnam and his officers during the 
:ampaign of the preceding summer on the Hudson than the desertions 
vhich had thinned his ranks, and the Tory spies, who frequented his 
amps, under every vafiety of pretext, and forthwith conveyed the in- 
"ormation thus gathered to the enemy. To put a stop to this it had been 
ietermined that the next oft'ender of either sort captured should suffer 
leath as an example, and according to the usages of war. The time for 
butting this determination into execution soon arrived. One day some 
scouts from Putnam's outposts in Westchester County captured a man 
urking within their lines, and as he could give no satisfactory account 
)f himself he was at once haled over the borders, and into the presence 
>f the commander-in-chief. In answer to his queries, the prisoner said 
;'hat his name was Jones, that he was a Welshman by birth, and had 
iettled in Ridgefield a few years before the war commenced : that he had 
lever faltered in his allegiance to the king, and that at the outbreak of 
hostilities he had fled to the British army, and had been made a butcher 
n the camp ; a few weeks before, he had been sent into Westcliester 
Ibunty to buy beeves for the army, and had been captured as above nar- 
rated. He was remanded to the guard-house and a court-martial at 
)nce ordered for his trial. The result is given in the following docu- 
nent found among the papers of the late Lieutenant Samuel Richards, 
Paymaster in Colonel Wylly's regiment:* 

"Feb. 4, 1779. Was tried at a General Court Martial Edward Jones 
:or Going to and serving the enemy, and coming out as a spy — found 
Ifuilty of each and every charge Exhibited against him, and according 
o Law and the Usages of Nations was sentenced to suffer Death. 

"The General approves the sentence and orders it to be put in Execu- 
^:ion between the hours of ten and eleven a. m. by hanging him by the 
leck till he be Dead." 

* Many other papers from the Richards collection, both interesting and valuable, 
^ill be tound in this work. The originals are in the possession of Hon. D. B. Booth. 
£ Danbury, who has kindly allowed me to copy from them. 



^(1 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Two days after another court-martial was held for a similar ofifence, 
as the following proves: 

"Feb. 6, 1779. At a Gen'l Court Martial was tried John Smith oJ 
the 1st Connecticut Regiment for desertion and attempting to go to th( 
Enemy, found guilty, and further persisting in saying that he will go t( 
the Enemy if ever he has an opportunity. Sentenced to be shot to deatl 
and orders that it be put in Execution between the hours of ten and twelv< 

A. M." 

General Putnam having two prisoners under sentence of death de^ 
termined to execute them both at once, or as he expressed it, "make 
double job of it," and at the same time make the spectacle as terrible an< 
impressive as the circumstances demanded. The lofty hill dominatinj 
the valley and the camps (known to this day as Gallows Hill) was chosei 
as the scene of the execution, the instrument of death being erected on its] 
highest pinnacle. The details of the execution, for reasons which will 
appear, I prefer to give in the words of the three different historians 
who have chronicled it. Mr. Barber, in his "Historical Collections 
Connecticut," p. 399, says : 

"The scene which took place at the execution of these men is dej 
scribed as shocking and bloody. The man on whom the duty of han| 
man devolved left the camp, and on the day of execution could not b< 
found. A couple of boys about the age of twelve years were ordered b; 
General Putnam to perform the duties of the absconding hangman. ThI 
gallows was about twenty feet from the ground. Jones was compellec 
to ascend the ladder, and the rope around his neck was attached to th| 
cross-beam. General Putnam then ordered Jones to jump from the la( 
der. 'No, General Putnam,' said Jones, T am innocent of the crime lai| 
to my charge ; I s'hall not do it.' Putnam then ordered the boys beforj 
mentioned to turn the ladder over. These boys were deeply afifected h\ 
the trying scene ; they cried and sobbed 'loudly, and earnestly entreat* 
to be excused from doing any thing on this distressing occasion. Put- 
nam, drawing his sword, ordered them forward, and compelled them at 
the sword's point to obey his orders. The soldier that was sbot for 
desertion was but a youth of sixteen or seventeen years of age. Three 
balls were shot through his breast : he fell on his face, but immediately 
turned over on his back ; a soldier then advanced, and putting the muzzle 
of his gun near the convulsive body of the youth, discharged its contents 
into his forehead. The body was then taken up and put into a cofifin; 
the soldiers had fired their pieces so near, that they set the boy's clothes 
on fire, which continued burning. An ofificer wath a drawn sworn stood 
by, while every soldier of the three brigades who were out on the occa- 
sion was ordered to march by and look at the mangled remains." 

Mr. Barber says in a foot-note that the atyove particulars were derived 




Historic Houses. II 



THi<: OLD COL. AAROX BARLOW HOUSE. 

From its gable window the wife of one of the condemned men saw her 
husband executed on Gallows Hill, about a mile to eastward. 

Tn its southeast corner chamber Jf^el Rarlow wrote his "Vision of Colum- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 37 

from an aged inhabitant of Reading, who was present on the occasion, 
and stood but a few feet from Jones when he was executed. Mr. Hol- 
hs'ter. in his "History of Connecticut," takes exception to the above ac- 
count. In Vol. ii, page 375, of his work, he has the following note: 

"The Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett, who was pastor of the Congregational 
church in Redding for a period of fifty years, officiated as chaplain to the 
encampment during the winter, and was present at the execution. He 
interceded with General Putnam to defer the execution of Smith until 
Washington could be consulted — the offender being a youth of seventeen 
years ; but the commander assured him that a reprieve could not be grant- 
ed. 'Mr. Bartlett was an earnest and fearless Whig, and openly talked 
and preached 'rebellion' — so much so, that the Tories, who were numer- 
ous in the eastern part of the town, threatened to hang him if they could 
catch him. In consequence of these threats he often carried a loaded 
musket with him when on his parochial visits. His son and successor 
m the ministry at Redding — the Rev. Jonathan Bartlett, now (1855) in 
his ninety-first year — wdl remembers the Revolutionary encampment at 
Redding and frequently visited it. He is sure that the story in Barber's 
'Historical Collections' about Putnam's inhumanity at the execution of 
.Smith and Jones is incorrect. Though not present himself, he has often 
heard his father relate the incidents of the occasion ; and furthermore he 
once called the attention of Colonel Asahel Salmon (who died in 1848, 
aged ninety-one), who was a sergeant in attendance upon the execution, 
to the statement, and he declared that nothing of the kind took place." 

Another historian, Rev. Thomas F. Davies, in an historical sermon 
delivered at Green's Farms in 1839, also takes exception to Mr. Barber's 
statement. He says : 

"Mr. Barber must have been misinformed. Reading is my native 
town, and from my boyhood I have heard the history of the proceedings 
on the occasion referred to, and was miidh surprised at the statements 
in the 'Historical Collections.' The Rev. Mr. Bartlett, whose father was 
chaplain on that occasion, informs me that General Putnam CQuld not 
have been guilty of the acts there charged. 

"That Mr. Barber may have something to substitute for the narrative 
to which I object, I give the following: 

"When General Putnam occupied the house of which Mr. Barber has 
given an engraving, a scene occurred which presents the General in a 
very amiaMe light. A poor man with a family needing support, and who 
lived in the neighboring town of Ridgefield, was told by one acquainted 
with his wants, that if he would visit General Putnam and hold a con- 
versation with him, he would on his return, and on proof of the fact, give 
him a bushel of wheat. The temptation in that time of scarcity and taxes 
was great, and so also was the fear of intruding upon so distinguished 



nQ HISTORY OF REDDING. 

an individual ; but the stern necessities of his condition at length induced 
the poor man to venture. He accordingly presented 'himself at head- 
quarters, and requested the servant to solicit for him an interview with 
the General. Putnam promptly summoned the man to his presence, di- 
rected him to be seated, and listened with interest while the man with 
great trepidation gave the statement which accounted for the liberty he 
had taken. The General directed the servant to bring some wine, con- 
versed for a time very pleasantly with his needy visitor, and then calling 
for pen and ink, wrote a certificate in which he gave the name of the in- 
dividual, and stated that he had visited and conversed with General Put- 
nam, who signed it in his official character. Thus furnis'hed with the 
means of giving bread to his family, the distressed individual returned 
to his humble roof; and this anecdote, which I have on the very best 
authority, is proof that Putnam was not destitute of those kind and gentle 
affections which are so desirable an ornament of the most heroic char- 
acter." 

This diversity of statements led the writer to investigate the matter 
more thoroughly than he would otherwise have done ; from the testimony 
of several persons who were present it would seem that Mr. Barber was 
misinfonned, and that no such scenes took place. Mr. James Olmstead 
of Redding, who died in 1882, aged eighty-nine years, and whose father 
was an oiTicer in the continental army and present on the occasion, gives 
an entirely different version. In an article published in the Danbury 
NezL's, he says : 

"My father * * * being an officer himself and well known to 
some of the officers on duty, was one of the few who were admitted 
within the enclosure formed by the troops around the place of execution 
and able to witness all that there took place. After prayer by the Rev. 
Mr. Bartlett, the younger prisoner. Smith, was first brought forward to 
his doom. After he had been placed in position and his death warrant 
read, a file of soldiers was drawn up in line with loaded muskets, and 
the word of command given. The firing was simultaneous, and he fell 
dead on the spot. After the smoke had cleared away it was found that 
his outer garment, a sort of frock or blouse, had been set on fire by the 
discharge, and which was extinguished by a soldier who had fired. He 
was within a few feet of the scaffold when Jones, pale and haggard, was 
next brought on, his death warrant was read and he seemed to recognize 
some few of his old friends, but said very little except to bid farewell 
to all, and his last words, which were, 'God knows I'm not guilty,' and 
he was hurried into eternity. 

"My father had a pretty good general knowledge of General Putnam 
and his eccentricities, and had there been any unnecessary hardships or 
severity used in the treatment of the prisoners, he most certainly must 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



39 



have seen and known something of it, but in all I ever heard from him 
or anyone else, no allusion was made to anything of the kind, and in view 
of all the circumstances I think it may be safe to infer that no such thing 
ocurred on that occasion." 

As was to be expected, the citizens of Redding felt quite honored by 
the selection of their town for the army's winter quarters, and welcomed 
heartily the dusty battalions as they filed into camp ; but a few months' 
acquaintance opened their eyes to some of the ways of soldiers, and 
caused them to speed the army in the spring as heartily as they had wel- 
comed it in the autumn. The soldiers argued that as they were fighting 
the country's battles it devolved on the latter to furnish the sinews of 
war, and plundered the neighboring farmers, whether Whig or Tory, 
with the utmost impartiality. To them a well-stocked poultry yard or a 
pen of fat porkers offered irresistible inducements. A milch cow never 
failed of a circle of devoted admirers, v/hile bands of merry reavers 
occasionally stole over the borders into the neighboring towns, and har- 
ried in under cover of night droves of fat cattle, which were killed and 
eaten with as little formality as they were taken. V/ith the morning 
would come the owner complaining of these little peccadilloes, but as he 
could never prove property nor identify the rogues, they usually escaped 
punishment. After a time, however, the wary farmers foiled the depre- 
dators by herding" their live-stock over night in the cellars of their houses 
and in other secure places. 

The ringleader in all these forays was Tom Warrups, an Indian, 
grandson of the chief Chickens, whose story is given in the earlier pages 
of this work, and one of Putnam's most valued scouts and messengers. 
Tom possessed a great deal of individuality, and impressed himself on a 
succeeding generation to the extent that numberless anecdotes are re- 
membered and told about him to this day. Some of these, illustrating 
the Indian character, are worthy the attention of the grave historian. 
Tom had a weakness for liquor, which would have caused his expulsion 
from the camp had it not been for his services as scout and guide. One 
day he was seen deplorably drunk, and the officer of the day in disgust 
ordered him to be ridden out of the camp. A stout rail was brought, 
Tom was placed astride of it, four men hoisted it upon their shoulders, 
and the cavalcade started. On their way they met General Putnam with 
his aids, making the rounds of the camp. "Tom," said the General 
sternly, "how's this? Aren't you ashamed to be seen riding out of camp 
in this way?" "Yes," replied Tom, with drunken gravity. "Tom is 
ashamed, vera mooch ashamed, to see poor Indian ride and the Gineral 
he go afoot." Tom had a house on the high ridge back of Captain Isaac 
Hamilton's, now owned by John Read. It was built, it is said, 
in primitive Indian style, of poles set firmly in the ground, then bent and 
fastened together at the top. This framework was covered with bark, 



,Q HISTORY OF REDDING. 

and roofed with reeds and rushes. Its furniture consisted of frame- 
work bedsteads, with bedding- of skins, wooden bowls fashioned from 
pepperage knots, huge wooden spoons, baskets made of rushes or long 
grass, pails of birch bark, and an iron pot and skillet begged or borrowed 
from the settlers. His sister Eunice was his housekeeper. Except in 
war he was a worthless, shiftless fellow, and lived chiefly by begging; 
hunting and trapping were his recreations. He would often absent him- 
self from his hut for weeks at a time, sleeping in barns or in the forest. 
A huge overhanging rock about a mile north of Georgetown often shel- 
tered him on these occasions, and is still known as Warrups' Rock. 

Tom's neighbor and landlord before the war was Colonel John Read, 
son of the early setder of that name. On one occasion the colonel had 
a company of gentlemen from Boston to visit him, and planned a grand 
hunt in their honor. Tom was always master of the revels at such 
times, and piloted the party on this occasion. In their rambles through 
the forests they came to a spring, and being thirsty one of the party la- 
mented that they had left their hunting cups behind. Tom at once slip- 
ped off his shoe, and filling it with water offered it to the guest to drink ; 
whereupon Colonel Read reproved him sharply for his ill-breeding. Tom 
drank from the vessel while the homily was being delivered, and then 
replaced the shoe, observing with the haughtiness of a king, "Good 
enough for Indian, g^ood enough for white man too." 

After the war Captain Zalmon Read and Tom were near neighbors, 
ana the former had a cornfield in dangerous proximity to Tom's cabin ; 
he missed the corn and suspected Tom, and watching, not only discovered 
him to be the thief, but also his ingenious plan of procedure. About 
midnight the Indian would come, basket in hand, and seated on the top 
rail of the fence would thus address the field : " Lot, can Tom have 
some corn?" "Yes, Tom," the lot would reply, "take all you want"; 
whereupon Tom would fill his basket with ears and march off. The 
next night, as the story goes, the captain armed himself with a grievous 
hickory club and lay in wait behind the fence. Presently Tom came, re- 
peated his formula, and proceeded to fill his basket, but when he returned! 
with it to the fence, it was occupied by the captain, who proceeded to] 
repeat Tom's formula with a variation. *"Lot, can I beat Tom?" "Yes,' 
the lot replied, "beat him all he deserves" ; whereupon the fun-loving 
captain fell upon the culprit and gave him the thorough beating which 
his roguery deserved. 

One more anecdote of Tom must suffice. One day he went to aj 
neighbor's house and demanded whiskey. No, the neighbor was of the] 
opinion that whiskey was bad for Tom. "Rum, then." "No." "Cider."; 
"No, cider was bad too; food he might have to keep him from starving, 
but no fire-water." Tom ruminated. "Well," said he at length, "give! 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 4 1 

me toast and cider" — a favorite dish in those days — and in this way won 
the desired stimulant. 

Some years after, when age was creeping on, Tom and his sister re- 
moved to the Indian reservation at Schaticook, in Kent, whither his 
tribe had preceded him. and the time and manner of his death was un- 
known to his white brethren in Redding. 

This is a long digression, pardonable in this connection only because 
its subject was one of the brave defenders of his country. 

Among the papers in the "Richards Collection" are some that are in- 
teresting as detailing little episodes of camp life, as well as some that 
possess considerable historic value. They are as follows : 

" Headquarters, Reading, May, 28, 1779. 
" Daniel Vaughn and Jonath'n Gore of the 8th Connecticut Regt. 
Tryd by a Brigade C. M. whereof Lt. Col. Sumner was President, For 
Stealing a Cup from Capt. Zalmon Read of Reading, The Court are of 
Opinion the charges against Vaughn and Gore are not supported. 

" B. O." 

"Camp, 2nd Hill, Nov. 14, 1778. 
" The General having obtained permission of the Commander In 
Chief to be Absent a few days from the Division, the Command will 
devolve upon Brigadier Gen'l Huntington. Gen'l McDougal is happy 
that it falls upon a Gentleman in whose care for and attention to the 
Troops he has the utmost Confidence. The Orders will be issued as 
usual at the Headquarters of the Division." 

general Putnam's orders. 

" Reading, Dec. 18, 1778. 

" Lieut. Col. Butler of Wylly's Reg. is promoted to the command of 
the 2nd Company Battalion and is to be obeyed as such. Col. Meigs is 
appointed Inspector of the Division and to do the duty of Adj. General 
for the same until further Orders — Quartermaster Belding of the First 
Conn. Brigade is appointed Quartermaster of the Division and is to do 
that duty until further Orders. David Humphrey Esq. late Brigade 
Major to Gen'l Parsons is appointed aide de camp to Gen'l Putnam till 
further Orders." 

" Fei;. 13, 1779. 

" The Gen'l Directs that no person be permitted to visit the Prisoners 
under sentence of Death Unless at their Request as frequent Complaints 
have been made that they are interrupted in their Private Devotions by 
persons who came for no other Purpose but to Insult them." 



42 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



"^t a Cen'l Court Martial held at Bedford Oct. 3, 1778, By order of Gen^ 
Scott whereof Lt. Col. Blaisden was President. 
" Elisha Smith a private in Capt. Stoddard's Co. 2d Regt. Light 
Dragoons was tryed for Deserting to the Enemy last August and Pilot- 
ing them into and against the troops of this State Defrauding the publick, 
by selling his horse and Accouterments in a Treasonable Manner to the 
Enemy and for Menacing and Insulting his officers while a Prisoner, 
found Guilty, and Sentence Him to Suffer the pains of Death — His 
Excellency the Commander in Chief Approves the Sentence and Orders 
s'd Elisha Smith to be Executed next Monday the 12th Inst, at n 
O'clock A. M. at or near Bedford as Gen. Scott shall Direct." 

No date : " Divine Service will be performed to morrow at the 
Church, to begin at 11 O'Clock a. m. Those off Duty are to March from 
Camp so as to be at the Church by that time." 

The "Church" was the Congregational at the Centre, and the preach- 
er the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett. 

" Headquarters^ May 27, 1779. 
" Major General Putnam being (about) to take command of one of 
the Wings of the Grand Army, before he leaves the Troops who have 
served under him the winter past, thinks it his Duty to Signify to them 
his entire approbation of their Regular and Soldier like Conduct, and 
wishes them (wherever they may happen to be out), a Successful and 
Glorious Campaign." 

Hazen's command seems to have been the first to break camp in the 
spring, as the following proves : 

" Head Quarters, Reading, March 21, 1779. 

"Col. Hazen's Regt. will march to Springfield in 3 Divisions by the 
shortest notice: the first Division will march on Monday next, and the 
other two will follow on Thursday and Friday next. Weather permitting, 
and in case the detached parties join the Regt. Col. Hazen will take with 
him one peice of Cannon and a proportionable Number of Artillery men."' 

April nth, the following order was issued: 

" Head Quarters, Apr. nth, 1779. 
" The officers are Requested to lose no time in Preparing for the field, 
that they may be ready to leave their present Quarters at the Shortest 
Notice. The Q. M. Gen'l — as far as it is in his power — will supply those 
with Portmanteaus, who have not been furnished before, and those who 
have or shall be provided are on no account to carry chests or Boxes into 
the field. The portmanteaus are given by the publick to Supersede those 
of such Cumbersome articles in order to contract the Baggage of the 
Army and lessen the Number of Waggons, which besides saving the 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



43 



Expense, is attended with many obvious and most Important Military 
Advantages. The General also thinks it necessary to give explicit notice 
in time with a View to have the army as little Encumbered as possible 
in all its movements, and to prevent burthening the public and the farm- 
ers more than can be avoided. No officer whose Duty does not Really 
require him to be on horseback — will be permitted to keep horses with 
the Army — It ought to be the pride of an officer to share the fatigues, 
as well as the Dangers to which the men are exposed on foot. March- 
ing by their sides he will lessen every inconvenience and Excite in them 
a spirit of patience and perserverance. Inability alone can justify a 
Deviation from this necessary practice. Gen. Washington strongly 
recommends to the officers to Divest themselves as much as possible of 
Every thing Superfluous — Taking to the field only what is Essential for 
Dining and Comfort. Such as have not particular friends within reach 
with whom they would choose to confide their Baggage, will apply to 
the O. M. Gen'l who will appoint a place for their Reception and furnish 
Means of Transportation." 

" Reading, May 24, 1779. 

"Gen. Parsons orders the Brigade to be Ready to March to Morrow 
at 6 o'clock A. M. Complet for Action." 

This brigade seems to have returned to the Highlands via Ridgefield 
and Bedford, as General Parsons dates his next order at Ridgefield^ 
May 30: 

" That Col. Wyllys furnish a Sergt. Corp. and 12 privates to be post- 
ed as a Guard this Night one quarter of a Mile in front of where his 
Regt. is quartered on the road leading to Bedford. That Col. Meigs 
furnish a Guard of the Same Number and Distance on the road leading 
to Norwalk. The Revielle to be beat to-morrow morning at the Dawn 
of Day, the troops to parade at 4 o'clock half a mile below the meeting 
house, on the road leading to Bedford, for which place they will march 
immediately after in the same order as this day." 

" Bedford, May 31st, 1779. 

" The troops of Gen. Parson's Brigade to have two Days. . . .per man 
from Capt. Townsend .... refresh themselves, and be ready to march in 
two hours to Parade near the Meeting house." 

" Fish KILL, June 2, 1779. 

"Gen. Parsons orders that Com'sr Sturm deliver one gill of Rum per 
man, and two Days provision to the troops of his Brigade, this Day. — 
The Or. master to make return for the sam." 



44 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Hd. Qr., June 7th, 1779. 
"General McDougal Orders a Detachment of 150 Men Properly 
Officered from Gen. Parson's and Huntington's Brigades to parade at 
12 o clock, with arms, ammunition, accouterments, Blankets and three 
days Provisions in front of Gen. Hn. Bd." (Huntington's Brigade.) 

" Hr. Qr. June 7th, 1779. 

" The Grand Parade in front of Gen. Hn. Bd. 100 men properly 
Officered from Hn. Bd. will parade for piquet at 3 o'clock for the future. 
The Relief will parade at 8 o'clock in the morning. No persons will 
pass the piquet who cannot give a Good Ac'ct. of himself." 

" The Signal of Alarm will be three cannon fired Distinctly by the 
Artillery in the front line." 

The following orders show the route taken by the army in the fall 
of 1778 from the Highlands to Redding: 

" Head Quarters, Fredericksburg, Oct. 16, 1778. 
"To morrow being the Anniversary of the Surrender of Gen'l Bur- 
goyne and his Troops to the Arms of America under the Command of 
Major Gen'l Gates, it will be Commemorated by the firing of thirteen 
cannon from the Park of Artillery at 12 orClock." 

" Head Quarters, Oct. 22, 1778. 

"Nixon's, Parson's and Huntington's Brigades are to march to mor- 
row morning at 7 'o'clock from the Line under the command of Major 
Gen'l McDougall — Orders of March — Gen'l Nixon's Brigade leads, 
Huntington's follows. Parson's brings up the Rear, Commanding Officers 
of Corps will be answerable for the conduct of their men while on the 
March. Artillery to March in Centre of each Brigade — the Baggage of 
Gen'l Officers to March in Rear of the Troops, the other Baggage will 
march in the same order. Forage and Commissary Waggons in the rear 
of the Whole." 

"New Milford, Nov. 5, 1778. 

"The Honora^ble, the Continental Congress having on the 12th of Oc- 
tober passed a Resolution to discourage prophaneness in the Army it is 
inserted in this Division for the information of Officers, and Gen. Mc- 
Dougall hopes for their aid and Countenance in Discouraging and Sup- 
pressing a Vice so Dishonorable to human Nature, to the commission of 
which there is no Temptation enough." 

" Camp, New Milford, Oct. 26, 1778. 
"Plis Excellency the Commander in Oiief has Directed the troops 
to remain here till further orders — and be in Readiness to March at the 
shortest Notice as Circumstances shall require. While the Division is 
Reposed, two days bread will be on store Continually, Baked." 



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HISTORY OF REDDING. 



45 



These interesting extracts might fitly conclude the story of the army's 
encampment in Redding ; there are, however, some entries in the parish 
records, proving that amid the horrors of war sly Cupid found a chance 
to inflict his wounds, that are worthy of insertion. They are given as 
entered by the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett : 

"Fe'b. 7, 1770. I Joined together in marriage James Gibbins a sol- 
dier in the army and Ann Sullivan." 

"March i8th, 1779. I joined together m marriage John Lines, a sol- 
dier in the army, and Mary Hendrick." 

"March 30, 1779. I joined in marriage Daniel Evarts a soldier, and 
Mary Rowland." 

"Apr. 15, 1779. I joined in marriage Isaac Olmsted a soldier, and 
Mary Parsons." 

"Apr. 28, 1779. I joined in marriage Jesse Belknap an artificer in 
the army, and pAmice Hall." 

"May 4, 1779. I joined in marriage William Little, Steward to Gen. 
Parsons, and Phebe Merchant." 

"May 23, 1779. I joined in marriage Giles Gilbert an artificer in the 
army, and Deborah Hall.". 

"March 9, 1780. T joined in marriage William Darrow a soldier, 
and Ruth Bartram." 

In the month of June, 1781, Count de Rochamibeau and the Duke de 
Lauzun marched a column of French troops across Connecticut and took 
post in Ridgefield, within supporting distance of Washington's army on 
the Hudson. They passed through Redding on the march, and encamp- 
ed over night, it is said, on the old parade-ground. Their supply-train 
numbered eight hundred and ten wagons, most of them drawn by two 
yoke of oxen and a horse leading. 



CHAPTER V. 

Putnam Memorial Camp-Ground. 

HISTORICAL. 

In a History of Redding, published in 1880, the author de- 
scribed the site of Putnam's winter quarters of 1778-9, and predicted that 
"it will in time no doubt become a favorite place of resort." On the 
setting of the Connecticut Legislature in January, 1887, Hon. Isaac N. 
Bartram, of Sharon, introduced the following resolution, Aaron Tread- 
well, owner of the site, having previously agreed to present the land as 
a free srift to the State : 



46 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

"Resolved by this Assembly, that a committee consisting of one Sen- 
ator and four Representatives be appointed to investigate and report at 
once on the practicability and desirability of obtaining for the state the 
old Israel Putnam Camp Grounds in the town of Redding, on which 
traces of said encampment still exist, and the erecting thereon of a suit- 
able monument or memorial." 

The resolution passed, and Senator Cole of Bethel, Messrs. Bartram 
of Sharon, Gorham of Redding, Wessells of Litchfield, and Barbour of 
Branford, of the House, were appointed a committee to visit the grounds 
and report. Early in February this committee, accompanied by a num- 
ber of interested members, proceeded to Redding. They were met at the 
station by a delegation of citizens of Redding and escorted to the winter 
quarters which they inspected. To this committee, by request, Charles 
B. Todd presented a plan for the lay-out of the grounds, which he later 
embodied in an article on the winter quarters in the New York Evening 
Post, and which was widely copied by State papers. 

" It is not proposed to erect a pleasure park, but a memorial. The 
men it is designed to commemorate were strong, rugged, simple. Its 
leading features, therefore, should be of similar character and of such 
an historical and antiquarian cast as to direct the thought to the men and 
times it commemorates. The rugged natural features in which the pro- 
posed site abounds should be retained. I would throw over the brooks 
arched stone bridges with stone parapets such as the troops marched over 
in their campaigns through the Hudson valley. The heaps of stone 
marking the limits of the encampment should be left undisturbed as one 
of the most interesting features of the place. One might be reconstruct- 
ed and shown as it was while in use. A summer house on the crag 
guarding the entrance, might be reared in the form of an ancient block- 
house, like those in storming or defending which Putnam and his rangers 
learned the art of war. Such a structure, at this day, would be an his- 
torical curiosity. I know of but two in the world — one on Sugar Island, 
at the mouth of the Detroit River, and another at Mackinac Island, in 
the Straits of Mackinaw. For the monument I would suggest a cairn of 
stones from the neighboring limestone quarry, to be surmounted by a 
pyramidal monolith of granite, ten feet high, each of its four faces bear- 
ing an inscription as follows : 

For the north face : 

On this spot, and on two others situated one and two miles to the 
westward respectively. Gen. Putnam's division of the Continental Army 
encamped during the severe winter of 1778-9, enduring untold priva- 
tions, in the belief that their sufferings would inure to the benefit and 
happiness of future millions. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. Ay 

On the reverse: 

The men of '76 
who sutfered here. 

To preserve their memory so long as time endures, the State of Connec- 
ticut has acquired these grounds and erected this monument, A. D. 
1887. 

On the east face the names of the division and brigade commanders ; 
on the west an extract from Putnam's address, sHghtly changed. 

All the world is full of their praises 
Posterity stands astonished at their deeds. 

This plan, modified as to details, both by Mr. Todd himself, and from 
suggestions by John Ward Stimson, Superintendent Isaac N. Bartram 
and Engineers Hull and Palmer, has since been followed in the lay-out 
of the Camp. The Special Committee, on February 9th, submitted tlie 
following report : 

Your Committee * * * visited the site on February 3d, and 
found it to be a sloping hillside facing the east, diversified with crags 
and plateaus and forming the west wall of the valley of Little River, an 
affluent of the Saugatuck. The ground is two miles from Bethel, the 
nearest railroad station, and five from Danbury, at which point railroads 
from all parts of the state converge. A fine forest covers the greater 
part of the site ; brooks flow through it falling in cascades over the crags, 
and the general situation is commanding and delightful. 

The heaps of stone marking the site of the log huts in which the 
brigades were quartered, are forty-five in number and are arranged op- 
posite each other in long, parallel rows defining an avenue some ten yards 
wide and five hundred feet in length. These, with others scattered among 
the crags, admirably define the limits of the encampment, and form one 
of the best preserved and most interesting relics of the Revolution to be 
found in the State, if not in the Country. It was here that Putnam and 
his brigades wintered in 1778-9. 

The owner of the site, Aaron Treadwell, offers to donate so much 
land as the State shall decide to take for the purpose of preserving in- 
tact forever the old Camp Ground, and for erecting thereon a suitable 
memorial. Your Committee would recommend the acceptance of the 
offer of Aaron Treadwell as a gift to the State, and the appropriation of 
fifteen hundred dollars for the erection of a suitable memorial thereon. 
They, also, recommend the appointment of a Committee of four, by his 
Excellency, the Governor, to receive for the State, a deed of said site, and 
for the laying out of the grounds and the erection of a memorial. 

A resolution, embodying these recommendations, was passed on April 
2ist. 



48 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



The committee appointed by Governor Lounsbury in accordance with 
the resokition, comprised Hons. Samuel B. Gorham of Redding, and Isaac 
N. Bartram of Sharon, Messrs. Charles B. Todd and Aaron Treadvvell 
of Redding. This Committee caused to b- erected during the summer 
of 1888 the present monument. It was apparent, "however, that the tract 
of twelve acres which had been presented by Mr. Tread well, very inade- 
quately preserved the autonomy of the former camp. The line of bar- 
racks originally extended through the adjoining fields North nearly a 
quarter of a mile, and to bring the limits of the former winter quarters 
more within the control of the State, Mr. O. B. Jennings, of Fairfield, 
purchased the Read property on the north for five hundred dollars, and 
generously donated it to the State. 

The whole tract now comprised thirty-two acres, and needed to be 
fenced and made accessible by means of roads, walks, etc. Messrs. Hull 
and Palmer, engineers of Bridgeport, were accordingly employed by the 
committee to make a topographical survey and map, and prepare a plan 
or lay-out. This plan, with the engineer's estimate of cost, etc., was 
submitted to the Connecticut Legislature of 1889, at an early date, and 
a Joint Select Committee of one senator and six representatives was 
raised to proceed to Redding, view the monument and grounds, and re- 
port. This Committee, consisting of Senator Bartram of Sharon, Repre- 
sentatives Sharp of Pomfret, Aliller of Redding, Day of Brooklyn, 
Chichester of Wilton, Burlingame of Canterbury, and Sunderland of 
Danbury, visited the Camp early in February, 1889, and were again hos- 
pitably received and entertained by the citizens of Redding. They re- 
ported in favor of the whole amount called for in the engineer's estimate 
— $20,608.55, and an act appropriating this amount passed both Houses 
and was signed by Governor Bulkiey, June 19, 1889. A commission of 
seven persons "to be appointed by the Governor," had previously been 
created, and had been authorized "to accept on behalf of the State any 
gifts of real estate or money which might be oflfered to the State, * * 
and to take charge of the Camp Ground until August i, 1891, or until 
their successors were appointed." Section 2 authorized the commission 
"to cause said Camp Ground to be fenced and otherwise suitabh^ im-' 
proved as they should deem meet and proper, provided they did not ex- 
ceed the amount of money that might be given, together with the amount 
appropriated by the State therefor, including pay for their own services."' 

"Said commission to report in full their doings, and the amount by 
them expended to the next general assembly." 

Under the second act. Governor Bulkiey appointed the following gen- 
tlemen as commissioners : Isaac N. Bartram of Sharon, Charles B. Todd 
of Redding, Oliver B. Jennings of Fairfield, Clement A. Sharp of Pom- 





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HISTORY OK RKDDING. 



49 



fret, Oland H. Blanchard of Hartford, Samuel S. Ambler of Bethel, and 
James E. Miller of Redding. 

The work of restoring the winter quarters and of laying out the 
grounds was begun by this commission in July, 1889, and largely com- 
pleted by the autumn of 1890. A stone house for public comfort and 
as a museum of relics, a fountain with a jet of water playing on a bed 
of Connecticut mineral, a walk between the stone heaps and some minor 
details were left unfinished. It is to be regretted that succeeding com- 
missions did not in all respects carry out the original plan, thus pre- 
serving its unity. The present commission appointed by Governor Rob- 
erts in 1905, comprising John H. Jennings of Southport, William Ward 
of Naugatuck, William H. Hill of Redding, Thomas A. Evans of Bethel, 
Charles S. Peck of Danbury, Clarence T. Hickok of Bethel, and George 
A. Parker of Hartford, has done much to bring the grounds more into 
harmony with the original design. 

Since the gift of Mr. Jennings there have been several gifts of land 
to the State. In 1893, Isaac N. Bartram in order that the entire site 
mig^ht belong to the State, purchased of Henry Adams twenty-three 
acres on the east of the Jennings gift and presented it. In 1900, the 
heirs of Mr. O. B. Jennings presented a large tract of woodland on the 
north. The total area of the Camp is now one hundred and two acres. 

DESCRIPTIVE. 

No Revolutionary relic at all approaching in completeness the Israel 
Putnam Memorial Camp Ground in Redding can be found in America, 
and a brief description of the encampment and of the strength, equipment 
and organization of the army that occupied it can but be of interest in 
this connection. 

Col. Humphrey tells us that it was tlie whole right wing of the Con- 
tinental Army, which had rendezvoused at White Plains that summer, 
thence marched to Fredericksburg, and thence to Redding, leaving de- 
tachments to garrison the Highlands. Major-General Israel Putnam 
was Commander-in-Chief ; Major-General Alexander McDougall, Divi- 
sion Commander ; Brigadier-General John Nixon, Commanding the first 
Continental brigade : Brigadier-General Jedediah Huntington, Command- 
ing the second Continental brigade ; Brigadier-General Samuel Parsons, 
Commanding the third Continental brigade ; Brigadier-General Enoch 
Poor, Commanding a brigade of the New Hampshire line ; Colonel Moses 
Hazen, Commanding a corps of infantry, and General Sheldon, Com- 
manding a corps of cavalry. It would be interesting to know precisely 
how many men were encamped here, but it is difficult to fix the exact 
number. Col. Humphrey says, that in this summer of 1778, three armies 
were mobilized at White Plains, forming the right wing of the Grand 



50 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Army ; that it contained sixty regiments of foot, in fifteen brigades ; four 
batteries of artillery ; four regiments of horse, and several corps of State 
troops. Not all of this army came to Redding, as before remarked, but 
from the extent of the three camps, it is evident that a large portion of it 
was encamped here. 

Before telling how this great body was organized, officered and con- 
trolled, it will be proper to sketch briefly the Commanders. With the 
•history and exploits of General Putnam every school boy is familiar. 
The quaint old colonial house at Dan vers, Mass., where he was born, is 
still standing. The incidents of the wolf den, of the powder magazine 
at Fort Edward, his gallantry at Bunker Hill and on many revolutionary 
fields are twice-told tales and need not be recounted here. 

General Alexander McDougall, the second in command, was a native' 
of Scotland, having been born in the Island of Islay, in 1731. He settled 
when quite young in New York city, and when the contest between Eng- 
land and the Colonies began espoused warmly the patriot cause. He was 
appointed June 30, 1776, Colonel of the first regiment raised for the war 
in New York city. From this time his promotion was rapid. He was 
made Brigadier General August 9th of the same summer; Major General 
October 20, 1777, and witih his command was in the Battle of White 
Plains, White Marsh, and Germantown. He had been in command of 
the Highlands during this summer of 1778. In 1780 he was a delegate 
from New York to the Continental Congress. He died in New York, 
June 8, 1786. 

John Nixon, senior Commander of the Connecticut Brigades, was 
born in Philadelphia, in 1733, his father being a well-to-do ship merchant 
there. He was port warden of Philadelphia in 1766. An ardent patriot 
he early opposed tlie tyranny of King George, and in 1776 was commis- 
sioned Colonel of a Philadelphia regiment to succeed John Cadwallader, 
who was made Brigadier General. He served with distinction in the 
battle of Princeton, and suffered with Washington at Valley Forge. 

Jedediah Huntington was a native of Norwich, Connecticut, a mer- 
chant and graduate of Harvard College. He entered the army as Colonel 
at the beginning of the war, and gained the distinction of having served 
under every general officer in the Revolution, except Stark. 

Samuel H. Parsons was born in Lyme, Connecticut, May 14, 1737, 
and was the son of the distinguished clergyman, Rev, John Parsons, He 
was an able lawyer, and at the opening of the war was King's Attorney 
for New London County, which office he resigned to enter the patriot 
army. He originated the design of seizing Ticonderoga; was commis- 
sioned Colonel of the 6th Connecticut Regiment, April 26, 1775, and 
Brigadier General in the Continental Army by Congress in August, 1776. 
He won the perfect confidence of Washington, and there is evidence 
that he was employed by him on secret service to discover the designs 



II 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 5 1 

of Sir Henry Clinton. During tJhis winter through Squire Heron, an 
ostensible loyalist of Redding Ridge, he carried on a correspondence with 
Clinton, undoubtedly with the knowledge of Washington and Putnam, 
Heron being to Clinton a bitter tory, but in reality a friend to the colonies. 
After the war General Parsons was a prominent figure in the settlement 
of Ohio. 

General Enoch Poor, Commander of the New Hampshire Line, was 
born in Andover, Massachusetts, June 21, 1736. After the battle of Lex- 
ington he raised three regiments in New Hampshire, and took command 
of one. Congress in February, 1777, commissioned him Brigadier Gen- 
eral. He had served with honor in the campaign against Burgoyne the 
summer previous, having led the attack at Saratoga, and had been 
present at the Battle of Monmouth in the summer of 1778. He died in 
Camp, near Hackensack, the year after leaving Redding, 1780, and was 
buried with military honors. 

Let us next consider the regiments encamped here and learn what 
we can of their formation, discipline, dress, accoutrements, and the rou- 
tine of life at the camp. Sheldon's and Hazen's corps seem to have been 
all the Continentals here, the rest being "state troops" of Connecticut and 
New Hampshire.* 

Both classes, state and continental, were, however, modeled largely 
on the plan of the old militia system of the Colonies, and had been largely 
recruited from that source. The militia system of Connecticut, just prior 
to the Revolution, was one of the most perfect and effective ever devised. 
The bloody French and Indian Wars from 1745, down, had been her 
school and drill master. Let us study this system briefly. It was or- 
ganized in 1739, with the Governor as Captain-General and Commander- 
in-Chief. Thirteen regiments were formed at that time from the "train 
bands," the militia unit, each commanded by a Colonel, Lieutenant-Col- 
onel, and Major, who were commissioned by the Governor. A regiment 
might also include a troop of horse. There was an annual "muster of 
arms" on the first Monday of May, several "company" trainings a year, 
and a "regimental muster" once in four years. In 1756 two "company 
reviews" were instituted to be held yearly on the ist of May and ist of 
October. In 1767 the Fourteenth Regiment was formed of Cornwall, 
Sharon, Salisbury, Canaan and Norfolk. In 1769, the Fifteenth was 
formed of Farmington, Harwinton and New Hartford. In 1771 the 
Sixteenth, of Danbury, Ridgefield, Newtown and New Fairfield. In 
1774 the Seventeenth, of Litchfield, Goshen, Torrington and Winchester, 
and the Eighteenth, of Simsburv, New Hartford, Hartland, Barkhamsted 



* State troops were not regularly mustered in, but were lent Washington by their 
respective states when a special danger threatened, or for a certain purpose. They 
•were usually under the orders of the Governor and Council of their states. 



52 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



and Colebrook. In October to meet the coming storm, four additional 
regiments were formed. The Nineteenth, from East Windsor, Enfield, 
Bolton and that part of Hartford east of Connecticut River. The Twen- 
tieth, from the miHtary companies of Norwich. The twenty-first, from 
Plainfield. Canton, Vohintown, and the South Company of Kilhngly ; and 
the Twenty-second, of Tolland, Somers, Stafford, Willington and Union. 
In May, 1776, two more regiments were formed, one in Westmoreland 
County in Pennsylvania, then a part of (^Connecticut, and the other in 
Middletown and Chatham. Later, in 1776, the Twenty-fifth was formed 
cf East Haddam, Colchester and the Society of Marlboroug'h, while the 
cavalry troops were organized into five regiments of light horse. So 
tliat when the struggle opened, Connecticut had twenty-five regiments 
of foot and five of horse, armed, officered, and to some extent drilled, that 
could be called to her defence. All males between sixteen and fifty were 
liable to serve in these regiments. Not a few of the men were veterans 
seasoned in the French and Indian wars. The Assembly of 1776, mob- 
ilized this force into six brigades, appointed a Brigadier-General for each 
brigade, and two Major-Generals to command the whole. There were 
then 26.000 men in the colony capable of bearing arms; 1,000 of them 
beyond the Delaware. These men served in the Continental army in two 
ways — as enlisted men when they left the state service and were known 
as continental or regular soldiers, and as militia ordered by the Governor 
or Assembly to some threatened point, when they were known as state 
troops. In August, 1776, for instance. Governor Trumbull ordered all 
the militia west of the Connecticut River — 14 regiments — ^to march to 
the defence of New York. 

The Continental service was modeled much after that of Connecticut. 
The main difference between the continental and the militiaman was, that 
the former took an oath "to be true to the United States of America, and 
to serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or op- 
posers, whatsoever, and to observe and obey all orders of the Continental 
Congress, and the orders of the General and officers set over me by them," 
while the state troops swore fealty to their State only. Congress, July 
18, 1775, provided that the compan}' should comprise a captain, two lieu- 
tenants, an ensign, four sergeants, four corporals, a clerk, drummer, fifer 
and sixty-eight privates. Connecticut at its October session made the 
same provision, although before that time the State companies had con- 
sisted of one hundred men. 

The camp equipment of the militia, provided the full quota had been 
maintained, seems to have been sufficiently liberal. An order of 1775, 
enumerates, "90 marquees or officer's tents, 500 private tents, cloth for 
48 tents, and for 500 tents, 1,092 iron pots of 10 quarts each — if not pots 
then tin kettles; 1.098 pails, 2 brass kettles of 10 gallons each for each 
company, 2.500 wooden bowls. 4 frying pans per company, 6,000 quart 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



:)3 



runlets, 60 drums, 120 fifes, i standard for each regiment, a medicine 
chest and apparatus not to exceed £40 in cost, a set of surgical instru- 
ments for the corps, 70 books in quarto of one quire each, 2 reams of 
writing paper, 10 of cartridge paper, i cart for each company, etc." 

The Continental soldier had to furnish himself with a good musket, 
carrying an ounce ball, a bayonet, steel ramrod, worm, priming wire and 
brush, cutting sword or tomahawk, cartridge box containing twenty-three 
rounds of cartridges, twelve flints and a knapsack. Each man was also 
to provide himself with one pound good powder and four pounds of balls. 
The rations of the militia were also sufficiently liberal, provided they 
could have secured them — ^4 pound of pork, or one pound beef, i pound 
bread or flour, 3 pints beer Friday, beef fresh two days in the week, j/2 
pint rice or pint of meal, 6 ounces butter, 3 pints peas per week, a gill of 
rum per day when on fatigue, and no other time. Milk, molasses, can- 
dles, soap, vinegar, coffee, chocolate, sugar, tobacco, onions in season, 
and vegetables at the discretion of the field-officers are mentioned. The 
pay of officers and men was as follows : Major General, £20 per month ; 
Brigadier General, £17; Colonel, £15; Lieutenant-Colonel, £12; Major, 
£10; Chaplain, £6; Lieutenant, £4; Ensign, £3; Adju'tant, £5, los ; Quar- 
ter master, £3; Surgeon, £7, los; Surgeon's mate, £4; Sergeant, £2, 8s; 
Corporal, £2, 4s ; fifer and drummer, £2, 4s ; private, £2. If they found 
their own arms £10 for use of the latter. The musket prescribed by 
Connecticut must have a barrel 3 feet 10 inches long, ^ inch bore, bay- 
onet blade 14 inches long, iron ramrod, good lock and stock well mounted 
with brass, and the name of the maker on it. is, 6d, was given each man 
who supplied himself with 3 pounds of balls, 3s for a pound of powder, 
and 3d for six flints ; otherwise they were supplied out of the Colony 
stock. 

By November 14th, as remarked, the troops were all safely ensconced 
in winter quarters. A few days after, with a terrible northeast snow- 
storm, winter set in — one of the longest and severest ever known in this 
region. The mercury sank to its lowest level, and the snow was so deep 
that all surface landmarks were obliterated, and people traveled in their 
sledges at will without regard to highways or fences. The poor soldiers, 
half clad, illy supplied with blankets, camp equipage, food and medicine, 
and housed in rude log huts, suffered terribly. Tales of the destitution 
of those times are still current in the town, having been handed down 
from father to son. 

We have no account of the destitution at Putnam Camp from the 
diarists of the period, but from whaJt has been recorded of other winter 
quarters, we infer that it was bitter in the extreme. Putnam wrote to 
Washington the spring before as follows : "Dubois Regiment is unfit to 
be ordered on duty, there being not one blanket in the regiment. Very 



J, - HISTORY OF REDDING. 

few have either a shoe or a shirt, and most of them have neither stock- 
ings, breeches nor overalls. Several companies of enlisted artificers are 
in the same situation and unable to work in the field." 

Dr. I'hatcher, in his diary, kept at Valley Forge the winter before, 

adds to the picture : 

"Thousands are without blankets and keep themselves from freezing 
by standing all night over the camp fires. Their foot prints on the frozen 
ground are marked in blood from their naked feet. For two or three 
weeks, in succession, the men were on half allowance, now without bread 
for four or five days, and again without beef or pork. A foreign visitor, 
walking through the camp, heard plaintive voices within the huts, saying 
"no pay, no clothes, no provisions, no rum," and whenever he saw a mis- 
erable being flitting from one hut to another, his nakedness was covered 
only by a dirty blanket." 

Washington, in his letters to Congress, also refers in affecting terms 
to the sad condition of the men in winter quarters. 

At Lebanon and in Hartford, pitying, large-hearted Governor Trum- 
bull was making the utmost efiort to succor the distressed troops, in 
which he was heartily seconded by the Connecticut Assembly. For in- 
stance, the latter body at its November session, 1776, enacted that the 
select men of each town should procure and hold in readiness for the 
soldiers, i tent, i iron pot, 2 wooden bowls and 3 canteens for each iiooo 
of the grand list of said town; and in January, 1778, it ordered that each 
town must provide i hunting shirt, 2 linen shirts, 2 pair linen overalls, 
I pair stockings, 12 pair good shoes, and one-half as many blankets for 
the continental soldiers. But the towns were so impoverished that, in 
many cases, they could not respond to the requisitions, and the soldiers 
suffered accordingly.* 

Before describing the final breaking up, let us look in upon the camps, 
and spend a day there with the soldiers. At sunrise, reveille calls them 
from their beds. After their frugal breakfast, at ten o'clock comes "par- 
ade," or as we would term it, "guard mounr." 

The continental soldier, wlien presentable, made no doubt a gallant 
show in his uniform of blue and buff with bayonets glistening and silken 
standards waving.** 

Once every two months the rules and regulations of Congress were 
read to the men on parade, and there was often some general order or 

*In 1778, the town of Redding petitioned the Legislature for relief. "Forty- 
nine of her citizens," says the petition, "have gone to the enemy; six are dead or 
prisoners; nine are in the corps of artificers; twenty-eight men are in the Con- 
tinental Army, and one-hundred and twelve in the train bands," leaving scarcely 
none to man the farms and produce money or supplies to meet the requisitions. 

**The standard of the First Connecticut Regiment was yellow, of the Second, 
blue; of the Third, scarlet; of the Fourth, crimson; of the Fifth, white; of the 
Sixth, azure. 




Plioti) by Miss Mary C. Boui^htoii. 

This old Revolutionary elm is said to hi the largest elm in Connecticut. 
One loot ;;hove the ground it has a girth of thirty feet six inches. The spread 
of its branches is one hundred and twelve feet. 

On the site of the cottage in the background (now owned by Miss Eleanor 
Dayton) stood the house of the Widow Sanford. where the Continental of- 
ficers banqueted in 1779. 



I 



t 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



DD 



felicitation of the Commander on some event of interest communicated 
at the same time. The sutler's tents were open until the "retreat" was 
beaten at sunset, and which sent every soldier to his quarters. Telling 
Stories and singing patriotic songs were almost the only evening amuse- 
ments of the soldiers. There were two talented young poets in the camp 
at this time, whose stirring lyrics sung around the camp fires were well 
calculated to cheer and animate the soldier, and lead him to forget, or en- 
dure with cheerfulness his privations. These two poets were Col. David 
Humphrey, aide-de-camp to General Putnam, and Joel Barlow, who had 
just graduated at Yale College, where he had distinguished himself by his 
patriotic commencement poem, the Prospect of Peace. Barlow was a 
native of Redding, and his brother, Colonel Aaron Barlow, was a meri- 
torious officer in the continental service, and the personal friend of Put- 
nam. Both poets later rose to eminence, Humphrey becoming aide-de- 
camp to, and later the friend and companion of Washington ; Barlow, 
after filling various offices, died in Poland in 1812, while our Minister to 
France. 

On Sunday all the troops presentable were formed in column and 
marched to the Congregational Church at Redding Centre, where they 
listened to the sermons of the eloquent and patriotic Parson Bartlett, pas- 
tor of that church. 

There were also chaplains of their own in camp, one of them being 
Abraham Baldwin, of New Haven, who later drafted the Constitution, 
and became a Senator of the United States from Georgia. 

One of the recreations of the officers was in practising the rites and 
amenities of Free Masonry. While the army lay at Redding, American 
Union Lodge, which followed the fortunes of the army, was re-organized 
"on application of a number of gentlemen, brethren of the Ancient and 
Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons." 

Agreeable to the application a summons was issued desiring the mem- 
bers to meet "At Widow Sanford's,* near Redding Old Meeting House, 
on Monday 15th inst. (February, 1779), at 4 o'clock past M." At this 
meeting General Parsons was elected Master. Records of several meet- 
ings of the Lodge at "Redding viz. Mrs. Sanford's" follow. On March 
25th the Lodge gave a state dinner w^hich is thus described : 

Procession began at half-past 4 o'clock, in the following order : 
Bro. Whitney to clear the way. 
The Wardens with their wands. 
The youngest brother with the bag. 
Brethren by juniority. 

*Who was she? According to Mr. John Nickerson, town clerk of Redding, 
who has made a study of the subject, she was daughter of Col. John Read, 3d, 
and widow of Sanford, and lived just east of the Congregational parson- 
age on the site of the cottage now owned by Miss Eleanor Dayton. 



56 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



The Worshipful Master with the Treasurer on his right hand sup- 
porting the sword of justice, and the Secretary on his left hand support- 
ing the bible, square and compass. 

Music playing the Entered Apprentice INIarch. 

Proceeded to Esq. Havvley's where brother Little delivered a few sen- 
timents on Friendship. The Rev. Dr. Evans and a number of gentlemen 
and ladies being present. 

After dinner the following songs and toasts were given, interspersed 
with music, for the entertainment of the company : 

Songs : Hail America f* Montgomery ; French Ladies* Lament ; 

That seat of science, Athens, 

And earth's great 'Mistress, Rome, 
Where now are all their glories? 

We scarce can find the tomb. 
Then guard your rights, Americans, 

Nor stoop to lawless sway, 
Oppose, oppose, oppose, oppose. 

My brave America. 

Proud Albion's bound to Caesar 

And numerous lords before, 
To Picts, to Danes, to Normans, 

And many Masters more. 
But we can boast, Americans, 

We never fell a prey. 
Huzza, Huzza, Huzza, Huzza, 

For brave America. 

We led fair fredom hither. 

And lo, the desert smiled, 
A Paradise of pleasure 

Was opened in the wild. 
Your harvest, bold Americans, 

No power shall snatch away, 
A.ssert yourselves, yourselves. 

Ye sons of brave America. 

Torn from a world of tyrants, 

Beneath the western sky 
We formed a new dominion, 

A land of Liberty. 
The world shall own its Masters here. 

The heroes of the day. 
Huzza, Huzza, Huzza, Huzza, 

For brave America. 

God bless this maiden climate. 

And through her vast domain 
Let hosts of heroes cluster, 

Who scorn to wear a chain. 
And blast the venal sycophants. 

Who dare our rights betray. 
Preserve, Preserve, Preserve, Preserve, 

Our brave America. 



I 



**The song. Hail America, was the most popular in the army. We give it 
entire. It was sung to the tune of the British Grenadier: 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 57 

Lift up your heads my heroes, 

And swear with proud disdain, 
The wretch who would enslave you 

Shall spread his snares in vain. 
Should Europe empty all her force, 

We'd meet them in array. 
And shout and shout, and fight and tight, 

For brave America. 

Some future day shall crown us 

The masters of the main. 
And giving laws and freedom 

To England, France and Spain. 
When all the isles o'er ocean spread. 

Shall tremble and obey 
Their Lords, their Lords, their Lords, 

The Lords of br^ve America. 

Mason's Daughter ; On, on, My Dear Brethren ; Huntsmen ; My Dog and 
Gun, 

Toasts : General Washington ; The Memory of Warren ; Montgomery 
and Wooster ; ReHef of the Widows and Orphans ; Ladies of America ; 
Union, Harmon}' and Peace ; Social Enjoyment ; Contentment. 

Music : Grand March ; Dead March ; Country Jig ; Mason's Daughter. 

The festivities were concluded with a speech by Rev. Waldo. At 
half-past 7 o'clock the procession began returning to the lodge room in 
reverse order from the afternoon procession, music playing the Mason's 
Daughter. 

On April 7th they dined at 3 o'clock, going in procession as before, 
and dining together "with a number of respectable inhabitants, gentlemen 
and ladies ; the Rev. Dr. Evans delivered a discourse suitable to the oc- 
casion ; after dinner there were the usual songs and toasts, and at six 
o'clock the procession returned to the lodge room. Thanks were pre- 
sented to the Rev. Dr. Evans for 'his discourse, and to Rev. Mr. Bartlett 
and the other gentlemen and ladies who favored the lodge with their com- 
pany at dinner." 

Bro. Belden's bill for the "two feasts" is given : 

i s d 

For Thursday March 25th 45 o 3 

Wednesday April 7th 81 14 11 

Bro. Sills bill, April 7th 19 14 o 

Bro. Little's bill, March 25th i 11 o 

Bro. Little's bill, April 7th 4 16 o 

The last meeting was held in Redding, April i6th, 1779, the Con- 
necticut line having about that time marched to the Highlands for the 
summer campaign. 



58 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



CHAPTER VI. 

General Parsons and William Heron — A Chapter of the Secret Service 

of the Revolution. 

There were sold in London in 1882, at auction, and purchased by Dr. 
Thomas Addis Emmett, of New York, two volumes in manuscript of the 
Private Intelligence of Sir Henry Clinton while commanding in New 
York. These volumes were subsequently pubUshed in the Magazine of 
American History and created no little comment from the fact that cer- 
tain letters therein from William Heron of Redding Ridge, to General 
Oliver de Lancey, Clinton's Adjutant General, indicated Heron as an 
emissary of the British, and that General Parsons was in communica- 
tion with them with a view of selling out his country, as Arnold had re- 
cently done. The letters, which form so serious an indictment of the 
two patriots, begin February 4th, 1781, when Heron wrote from Redding 
that he had hoped to see him (de Lancey) in New York before that 
time, but had failed to obtain a flag of truce. He added that he had 
been to Hartford and to the camps in the Highlands ; to the former to 
sound the members of the Secret Convention (which had been held in 
Hartford the November before) as to what had been done there; to the 
latter to discover the feeling of the officers and soldiers in the Continental 
camp, and had succeeded to his entire satisfaction, and he proceeded to 
tell Clinton that the object of the Convention was to form a closer union 
of the Eastern and York colonies, make Washington Dictator, and raise 
money and supplies for the army (all of which had, no doubt, been borne 
to Clinton by his numerous spies months before). In the Highlands, 
he added, he spent a night with Parsons and Stark, both of whom were 
his friends, and gave a very gloomy picture of the destitution and dis- 
content of the soldiers (which also was perfectly well known to the 
British Commander). 

In another letter Heron cautions his correspondent against paying 
any great attention to the reports of those who only "take up on hear- 
say." "Some of this class," he continues, "deceive persons in high office 
with you. They have no access to those from whom perfect knowledge 
can be obtained," "Believe me," he continues, "there are but few who 
are let into the secrets of the cabinet, nor could I know them were it not 
for my intimacy with some of the principal officers in the civil and mili- 
tary departments arising from my having been a member of the Legisla- 
ture and being still continued one of a committee appointed by the As- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



59 



sembly to examine into the staff department." While absent he would 
"have made it a part of his business to acquire a perfect knowledge of 
the state of the French at Rhode Island, but finding a person charged 
with that duty, who he believed would do it with tolerable accuracy, he 
had not done so." Again : "Private dispatches are frequently sent from 
your city to the chief here by some traitors. They come by way of 
Setauket (L. I.j, where a certain Brewster receives them at or near a 
certain woman's." 

In another letter he gives the name of one Bradley, a tory in Fair- 
field, where dispatches for him might be left and where he would leave 
his communications. 

An admirable example of the manner in which Heron informed the 
British Commander of important events after they had occurred, was his 
account of the attempt by Colonel Humphreys, Washington's aide-de- 
camp, to seize the person of the British Commander-in-Chief by a rush 
upon his headquarters at No. i Broadway. "A daring enterprise was 
lately concerted at the quarters of the chief here," he writes, and goes 
on to describe the attempt after it had failed. So much was this the 
case that after a time de Lancey began to grow suspicious, and com- 
plained that Heron's inforination was either stale or of no importance. 

The most important task Heron had been given was the winning over 
to the British cause of his friend General Parsons, and de Lancey now 
began prodding him to effect this. Heron replied that he had sounded 
Parsons in several interviews, and he recounts one of their conversations. 

He began by relating to him a conversation he had with a gentle- 
man in New York in the highest confidence of the Commander-in-Chief, 
in which he thus spoke of him (Parsons) : "Don't you judge him to 
be a gentleman possessed of too much understanding and liberality of 
sentiment to think that the welfare of his country consists in an un- 
natural alliance with the enemies of the protestant religion, a perfidious 
nation with whom no faith can be kept, as all the nations of Europe have 
experienced," and went on to say that His Majesty's government, know- 
ing him to be possessed of great talents, and with great influence in the 
army and with the country, would wish to make use of him for the 
laudable and honorable purpose of lending his aid in terminating this 
unhappy war in an amicable reunion with the parent state. Should he 
undertake it, government would amply reward him both in a lucrative 
and honorary way and manner, besides making a provision for his son." 
"He listened with uncommon attention," Heron continues, and replied 
that it was a matter requiring deliberation and postponed it to another 
opportunity. Next morning he sent for him, said he was well disposed 
toward the proposition, doubted if he could influence the army, but 
thought he could bring the officers of the Connecticut Line over. 



6o HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Other letters to the same effect followed, Heron holding out the lure 
of winning over Parsons as a means of retaining the confidence of the 
British and affording him a pretext for visits to the British camp, where 
he used his eyes and ears with most excellent results for the patriot 
cause. 

To a casual reader of the above correspondence, it would appear that 
both Heron and Parsons were engaged in treasonable communication 
with the British, and that was the impression given when the letters were 
first published. But those who know the men, and the methods by 
which Washington and his generals gained their information of the 
enemy's plans and movements, will see in it simply a ruse dc guerre of 
a character often practiced by them and played by Heron and Parsons 
in this instance with a shrewdness and nerve that must awaken our 
hearty admiration. Parsons has been fully vindicated in a paper read by 
Mr. J. G. Woodward before the Connecticut Historical Society in 1896. 
But in that paper the author gave a very unfair and unjust portraiture 
of Heron as a base and conscienceless person, who, while active in the 
councils of the Whigs, was, for purposes of personal gain, selling in- 
formation to the British, and endeavoring to corrupt General Parsons 
as poor Arnold had shortly before been corrupted. But a brief examin- 
ation of the character of Heron, of his environment, and of his later 
career, will dissipate this false impression and do justice to one of the 
boldest, most efficient and incorruptible patriots of the Revolutionary age. 

Who was William Heron? His origin and early youth is shrouded 
in mystery. He never spoke of it except to say that he was a native of 
Cork, Ireland, and had been educated at Trinity College, Dublin. We 
first hear of him as a teacher in the academy at Greenfield Hill ; later as 
a capable surveyor and engineer laying out the colony roads. Just when 
he settled in Redding does not appear, but it was sometime prior to the 
Revolution. In personal appearance he was short, portly, florid, with a 
deep bass voice and a countenance well calculated to disguise the true 
sentiments of its owner. 

General Parsons, in a letter to Washington, dated April 6, 1782, thus 
describes him : 'T forgot to mention the name of Mr. William Heron of 
Redding, who has for several years had opportunities of informing him- 
self of the state of the enemy, their designs and intentions, with more 
certainty and precision than most men who have been employed. * * 
He is a native of Ireland, a man of very large knowledge and a great 
share of natural sagacity, united with a sound judgment, but of as un- 
meaning a countenance as any person in my acquaintance. W^ith this 
appearance he is as little suspected as any man can be. An officer in the 
department of the Adjutant General is a countryman and a very intimate 
acquaintance of Mr. Heron, througli which channel he has been able 



I 




1 1 1. 

Historic Houses, 

RESIDENCE OF MISS EDITH EVERETT BURGESS. 

Redding Centre. 

On the site of this house stood in the Revolution the house of Deacon 
Stephen Burr, uncle of Col. Aaron Burr. Col. Burr often visited there, and 
wrote in his diary in Paris : "My Uncle Stephen lived on milk punch, and at 
the age of eighty-six mounted, by the stirrup, a very gay horse and galloped 
off with me twelve miles without stopping, and was, I thought, less fatigued 
than I.'' (For sketch, see Connecticut Magazine, Vol. X, No. 2.) 



j HISTORY OF REDDING. 6 1 

frequently to obtain important and very interesting intelligence. * * 
He has frequently brought me the most accurate descriptions of the j)0.sts 
occupied by the enemy, and more rational accounts of their numbers, 
strength and designs than I have been able to obtain in any other way. 
As to his character, 1 know him to be a consistent national Whig ; he is 
always in the field in any alarm and has in every trial proved himself 
a man of bravery. He has a family and a considerable interest in the 
state, and from the beginning of the war has invariably followed the 
measures of the country. In opposition to this his enemies suggest that 
he carries on illicit trade with the enemy, but I have lived two years next 
door to him and am fully convinced he has never had a single article 
of any kind for sale during that time. * •' I know many persons of 
more exalted character are also accused ; none more than Governor Trum- 
bull, nor with less reason. 1 believe the Governor and Mr. Heron as 
clear of this business as I am, and I know myself to be totally free from 
every thing which has the least connection with that commerce." 

When the army lay in Redding in the winter of 1778-9, Parsons' head- 
quarters were at Esquire Betts', on Redding Ridge, diagonally across 
the wide main street from Heron's modest dwelling. It was then in 
all probability that the two men first met and formed those intimate rela- 
tions which led Parsons later to recommend Heron to Washington as 
one of the most promising of their secret service emissaries. Together 
during that winter the two men concocted a plot to outwit the British 
Commanders. To the Whigs Heron was to remain a Whig. To the 
Tories, then very numerous on Redding Ridge, he was to go privately 
and acquaint them with the fact that he was an emissary of the British 
Commander, and secretly acting as such. As occasion ofifered he was 
to slip down to the British camp in New York, see and hear all that 
Parsons and the patriot chief would wish to know, return and report. 
When he could not go himself, he was to send, his favorite messenger 
being, it is said, the gigantic Mohawk chief, Warrups, before referred 
to. The way he gained the British lines was to ride to Fairfield, leave 
his horse with a Tory there, cross the sound to Huntington on Long 
Island, or an adjacent part, and thence make his way into the enemy's 
lines at New York. 

This mode of gaining information was a favorite one with Washing- 
ton and his generals. For instance, Sergeant Major Champe, of Lee's 
Legion, at the request of the latter, in a plot to capture the renegade 
Arnold, deserted to the British, and no doubt of his treachery existed in 
the minds of his comrades until his return to camp (having failed in his 
object) disabused their minds. Similarly Sergeant Daniel Bissell. of 
Windsor, deserted to the British for the purpose of gaining information 
for his chief, was officially proclaimed a deserter, and being unable to 



52 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

get the desired information, or to return, remained with the British an 
unwilling recruit for thirteen months. The most striking instance, how- 
ever, is that of John Honeyman, of Griggstown, Pa., Washington's most 
trusted scout, and of whom Stryker gives an extended account in his 
"History of the Battle of Trenton." None of his comrades, not even 
his wife, knew this man's true character. When Washington had a I 
particularly difficult and dangerous piece of work to do, he employed 
John Honeyman. Such an occasion presented itself a few days before 
the famous descent on the Hessians at Trenton on Christmas night, 1776. 
It was vitally necessary for the success of his plan that the Chief should 
know, not only the number of the Hessians in their camp across the 
Delaware from his post, but also the disposition of each regiment, the 
position of every outpost, and of all scouts and videttes, together with 
the personal habits of the Hessian commander and the customs of his 
camp. John Honeyman was therefore sent for, secretly conducted to 
headquarters and in a secret interview with the commander-in-chief was 
told what was wanted and how to get it. Dressed as a drover, he went 
into the Hessian camp with fat beeves to sell, loitered about like a gap- 
ing rustic until he had obtained the desired information, and then, whip 
in hand and with a rope dangling from his shoulders as if to tie calves, 
he slouched out of the camp. Arrived outside the lines he saw two 
American scouts some distance off, made prisoner of a cow in an ad- 
joining barnyard, and led her off toward the British camp, snapping his 
whip meantime to attract the attention of the scouts. They at once 
pounced on him, bound him, carried him to American headquarters and 
into the presence of Washington. Ordering out every officer the Com- 
mander-in-Chief in half an hour was in possession of every fact neces-B 
sary for his masterly coup. Honeyman was then placed in the guard 
house with the promise of a short shrift next morning, but during the 
night mysteriously escaped. 

To return to Heron. The fact that he was of Irish birth is evidence 
that he was a pretty good hater of the British. Another strong proof 
of his patriotism is found in the fact that his townsmen were through- 
out the struggle honoring him with office, or placing him on committees 
to advance the patriot cause. For instance, April 2, 1777, he was placed 
on a committee to hire recruits for the Continental army. June 2d, 
I779> ^"^e was appointed delegate to a county convention on monetary 
affairs; Dec. 27, 1780, on a committee to ascertain the length of time 
certain citizens of the town had served in the army; April 16, 1781, on 
Committee of Correspondence; Feb. 28, 1782, on committee to form 
citizens into classes for recruiting purposes. Also for four sessions 
during the war he served in the Assembly by vote of his townsmen, viz : 
May, 1778; October, 1779; January, 1780; May, 1781 ; while at the close 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 63 

of the war, instead of being run off to Nova Scotia with the other hated 
loyalists, he remained and represented his town in the legislature through 
seventeen sessions, covering a period of eighteen years. 

Heron, in personal bearing, was aristocratic and domineering, far 
from popular, and nothing could have exacted such a tribute from his 
townsmen but the fact known to them that he had performed a signal 
service to their country. There is another very significant incident in 
this connection. At a state banquet of members of American Union 
Lodge, at Widow Sanford's (See Chapter V.), all officers. Gen. Par- 
sons, as Master, presiding, Heron was given one of the most prominent 
seats,* which would not have been the case had there been any question 
as to his loyalty. 

Heron died on Redding Ridge, Jan. 8, 1819, at the ripe old age of 
seventy-seven years, and was buried in Christ Church yard. His tomb- 
stone bears this inscription : 

In Memory of 

WiLiAM Heron, Esq., 

Who was born in the City of Cork, Ireland, 1742, 

and died Jan. 8, 18 19. 

I know that my Redeemer liveth and that He shall stand at the latter 

day upon the earth. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Men of Redding in the Army of the Revolution. 

Worthy of lasting honor were the men of Redding who in a time 
that tried men's souls, left their homes to fight and endure for freedom 
and equality in the ragged, half-starved, poorly equipped regiments of 
the Continental Army. The publication by the State of Connecticut of 
the rosters of all regiments and companies which served in that war, the 
painstaking researches of family historians, and in particular William 
E. Grumman's praiseworthy work in his "Revolutionary Soldiers of 
Redding, Conn.," enable us to present here what is believed to be a com- 
plete list of all citizens of the town who served by land or by sea in the 
historic struggle. 

*I have this from a citizen of Redding, a leading Mason, who informs me 
that there is in existence, very jealously guarded by its owner, a book containing 
a chart or plan of the table at this banquet, with the position of each guest in- 
dicated thereon. My informant had seen the book, and the position occupied by 
Heron was as above mdicated. 



64 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Adams, Abraham — 5th Regt. Conn. Line, in Northern Army, 1775, 
and saw service at St. Johns and Montreal. Dis. Nov. 28, 1775. Next 
enlisted Sept. 27, 1777, for 8 mos. in 5th Regt. Conn. Continental Line. 
Dis. Jan. 9, 1778. Was a pensioner. 

Adams, Hezekiah — He was too young to serve as a soldier, but 
joined the army as a teamster and on one occasion drove a wagon loaded 
with Spanish milled dollars to Baltimore. D., Dec. 25. t8iq: b. in Lone- 
town Cemetery. 

Adams, Stephen — Brother of Hezekiah. Was in the 4th Regt. 
Conn. Militia in the Fishkill Campaign, Octo., 1777. Enlisted in a Regt. 
of Artificers, Mass. Line ; never returned. Supposed to have d. on the 
prison ship Jersey in New York Harbor. 

Andrews, Francis — Corp. in 4th Conn. Mil. in Fishkill campaign. 
Appointed inspector of provisions, Mch. 13, 1780. (Name spelled "An- 
dress" in records.) 

Andrews, Jonathan — Private, 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill campaign. 
Enlisted June 21, 1776, in Bradley's Battalion. Taken prisoner at Fort 
Washington, N. Y., Nov. 16, 1776. 

Andrews, Seth — On duty Oct., 1779. to guard the shore of Long- 
Island Sound. 

Barber, Bartholomew — Private in Bradley's Battalion, June 11 ta 
Dec. 25, 1776. Corp., 5th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line, Mch. 4, 1777, for 
3 years. Dis., Mar. 4, 1780. 

Barlow, Aaron — Colonel, Lieut. The personal friend of General 
Putnam. With the 5th Conn. Regt. in the Northern Campaign of 1775. 
Disch. Nov. 28, 1775. Ensign, 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign. 
Mem. Com. of Inspection, Dec. 22, 1777. From April, 1780, served 9^ 
mos. as Lieut, in Col. Beebe's Regt. of State troops on the Westchester 
front. i\lay, 1781, Lieut, of Coast Guards at Green's Farms. Lieut.- 
Col. 4th Conn. Mil., 1794-99. Died in Norfolk, Va., in 1800. (For 
sketch, see Chap. IX.) 

Barlow, Joel— Poet. Chaplain of 4th Mass. Brigade. D. near 
Cracow. Poland, Dec. 24, 1812. (For sketch see Chap. IX.) 

Barlow, Samuel — Brother of above. Served in the 5th Regt. Conn. 
Line, in Northern Campaign. Disc. Nov. 28, 1775. On his way home 
sickened and died at the house of David Mulford, in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
An inscription on the tombstone of his father, Samuel Barlow, Sr., in 
the old b. g. Redding, states: "His son, Mr. Samuel Barlow, resigned 
his breath in the service of his country. He died and was buried at 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 65 

lynbeck 011 his return from the victory of St. Johns and Montreal, Jan. 
;6, A. D. 1776, aged 2^ years. 

Thus age and youth without distinction fall, 
Death is the common lot prepared for all." 

Bartlett, Daniel Collins — Son of Rev. Nathaniel. Served in 
;th Regt. Conn. Line, and was present at the capture of St. Johns, Nov. 
775. Disc. Nov. 28, 1775, and volunteered to accompany Montgomery 
.gainst Quebec. Shared in the privations of that abortive campaign, 
served in the levies gathered to defend Danbury in 1777, and as a private 
)f the 5th Conn. Regt. in the Fishkill Campaign of the same year. D., 
)ec. 13, 1837, in Amenia, N. Y. 

Bartlett, Russell — Bro. of above. Fifer in 6th Co., 5th Regt. 
"onn. Line. Served in Northern Campaign. Disc, Dec. 11, 1775- 
Vpr. 26, 1777, captured at Danbury by Tryon's dragoons and confined 
n the old sugar house in New York, enduring its horrofs ; was released 
nd returned home. Settled at Hartwick, near Cooperstown, N. Y. D., 
^ov. 21, 1828, and is buried at Cooperstown, near James Fenimore 
Tooper, the novelist. 

Bartram, Daniel — Served with the militia in Tryon's alarm, April,. 
.y/y. Probably the Daniel Bartram who served in Major Starr's Regt. 
)f Light Horse, at Fairfield in 1780-1. 

Bartram, Isaac — Private in Regt. of Artificers, Mass. Line. En- 
isted from Danbury, Aug. 22, 1777, for 3 years. Pensioned from Mch. 
>4, 1818. D., Sept. 13, 1843; buried in Lonetown Cemetery. Grand- 
ather of ex-State Senator Isaac N. Bartram of Sharon. Noted for his 
;;kill as a worker in stone. 

Bates, Ezra— Enlisted, June, 1776, in ist Battalion, Wadsworth's 
Brigade ; served 6 mos. ; engaged in the battle of White Plains, N. Y., 
Oct. 28, 1776. Re-enlisted, Oct., 1778, and served 6 mos. as teamster, 
md in 1780, 9 mos. in a Regt. of State troops on the Westchester front. 
n spring of 1782, he enlisted in the ist Regt. Conn. Cont. Line, and 
erved 8 mos. and 16 days. Disc, Jan. i, 1783. 

Bates, Justus — Corp. 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign. 

Batterson, Jeremiah — In 5th Regt. Conn. Line, Northern Cam- 
)aign. Disc, Nov. 28, 1775. In 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign. 

Belding, Moses — His family received supplies from the town in 
780. Record unknown. 

Bennett, Daniel— In Lt. Col. Canfield's Militia Regt. at West 
^oint, Sept., 1781. Probably the Freeman of that name on rolls of 5th 



56 HISTORY OF REDDING. 



I 



Regt. Conn. Line, May 12 to Dec. 13, 1775, and in Col. Sam. Elmore's 
Regt. at Fort Schuyler (formerly Stanwix) in 1776. 

Betts, Stephen — Taken prisoner in Tryon's Raid, 1777, being select- 
man at the time; carried to New York, but released and returned home. 
Private in 4th Regt. Conn. Mil. in Fishkill Campaign. Is called Lieut. 
in the records. Intimate friend of Gen. Parsons and of Heron, 1778-9. 

BiXBY, Elias — Private, 5th Regt. Conn. Line, Northern Campaign., 
Disc, Nov. 28, 1775. Enlisted for the war, Dec. 20, 1776, in 5th Regt.. 
Conn. Cont. Line; promoted Corp., Nov. i, 1778; Sergt., Mch. 3, 1779. 1; 
Dis., Dec. 20, 1779. In the assault on Stony Point, July 15, 1779. 

Brothwell, Benjamin — Served five terms in the militia under ;var- 
ious alarms. 

Burr, Ezekiel — Corp. in 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, Oct., 

1777- 

Burr, Jabez — Private, 5th Regt. Conn. Line, in Northern Campaign.! 
Disc, Oct. 3, 1777. Was at Battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776, and; 
at the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga a year later. Died in Fairfield, 
Vt., June 28, 1825. 

Burr, Nathan — Bro. of above. Enlisted in Col. Elmore's Regt., j 
1776, and later with Capt. Satterlee. Discharged for inability. Re- ' 
moved to Pawling, N. Y., where his des. reside, substantial men in thei 
community. 1! 

Burr, Stephen — Private in 4th Conn. Militia, Fishkill Campaign. || 

Burrett, Phillip — Sergt., 4th Conn. Mil. Fishkill Campaign. 

Byington, John — In 5th Regt. Conn. Line, Northern Campaign.1 
Disc, Oct. 15, 1775. Enlisted, Aug. 13, 1776, in Bradley's Battalion,; 
Wadsworth's Brig. Served at Fort Washington, N. Y. Disc, Dec. 25,; 
1776. ]\Ich. 13, 1780, appointed Inspector of Provisions. D., Jan. 26, 
1834 ; bur. at Umpawaug, Redding. 

CoBURN, Edward — Hired to fill the quota of the town of Redding, 
and was assigned to Waterbury's State Brigade. 

CoLEY, Gershom — Sergt. 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign. Mchi 
13, 1780, chosen Inspector of Provisions. 

CoLEY, James — Private 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign. 

CoLEY, Nathan — In 5th Conn. Regt. in Northern Campaign. Disc.,. 
Oct. 15, 1775. Enlisted for the war in 5th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line, Apr; 
19. ^777- Corporal in 1778; Sergt., 1780. D., x\pr. 18, 1781. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 6/ 

Couch, Daniel — 5th Regt. Conn. Line, Northern Campaign. Disc, 
July 4, 1775- 

Couch, Daniel, Jr. — Enlisted in 4th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line, Jan. i, 
1781, and received a bounty of £30. 

Couch, Elijah — Served in New York in Major Skinner's Regt. of 
Light Horse, June 11 to Aug. 3, 1776. Private. 4th Conn. Mil., Fish- 
kill Campaign, 1777. 

Davis, John — Lieut. Com. 9th Co., 4th Conn. Mil, 1776. Died the 
same year. 

Davis, John — Probably son of above. Served in various commands. 
He continued in the militia service after the war and rose to be captain. 
Died Oct. 15, 1840. 

Dickenson, Lockwood — Enlisted in 20th Light Dragoons, under 
Col. Elisha Sheldon, Sept. 14, 1780. Killed Mch. 14, 1782. 

Dixon, James — Private, 4th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line, 1781. Enlist- 
ed for the war and served in the Light Infantry under Lafayette. Com- 
pleted his service in 2d Regt. Conn. Cont. Line. 

Fairchild, David — In 5th Regt. Conn. Line, Northern Campaign. 
Disc, Oct. 22, 1775. Captured in the Danbury Raid. Confined in Trin- 
ity Church, N. Y. D., a prisoner. May 16, 1777. 

Fairchild, Ezekiel — Brother of above. Also taken prisoner and 
carried to N. Y. Returned. Made Inspector of Provisions, Mch. 13, 
1780. 

Fairchild, Is.\ac — Brother of above. In 5th Regt. Conn. Line, 
Northern Campaign. Disc, Oct., 1775. 

Fairchild, John — In 5th Regt. Conn. Line. Disc, Oct., 1775. En- 
listed, Aug. 13, 1776, for defense of the state. Disc, Dec. 25, 1776. 

Fairchild, Samuel — Corp. 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, 1777. 

Fairchild, Stephen — Private, 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign. 
Wounded at Ridgefield, Apr. 27, 1777. The above six brothers were all 
in the service at one time. 

Fitch, Dr. Asahel — Surgeons' mate, 5th Regt. Conn. Line, in 
Northern Campaign, 1775. Served as a private in 4th Conn. Mil., Fish- 
kill Campaign. D.,^Mch. 31, 1793. 

Foster, Timothy — Served in Lt. Col. Canfield's Mil. Regt. at West 
Point, Sept., 1781. 

Gold, Samuel— Enlisted Apr., 1775, in 5th Regt. Conn. Line, for 
Northern Campaign, 1775. Jan., 1776, Sergt. under Capt. Isaac Hil- 



68 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Hard. Sergt. in Wadsworth's Brig, from Apr., 1776, to Jan., 1777. 
Was in the Danbury Raid, and wounded at Ridgefield. Corp. in the 4th 
Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign. 

Gray, Capt. John — One of the notable men of the town. He early 
enlisted in the 4th Conn. Mil., Capt. Johnson Read's Co. (largely made 
up of Redding men), and in Jan., 1778, succeeded to the command of 
that company. _ While commanded by him the company marched in the 
New Haven alarm, July 7th, 1779, and was in action at Norwalk, July 
nth. He commanded the coast guards at Fairfield for a time, and after 
the war was much in public life. He m. Ruhamah, half sister to Joel 
Barlow, Aug. 7, 1757, and after filling many offices in the gift of his 
townsmen, d. Oct. 25, 1793, and was bur. in the Old Burying Ground. 

Gregory, Jabez — Private, 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, 1777. 

Griffin, Joseph — Private, 4th Conn. Mil, Fishkill Campaign. In 
1777 enlisted for 3 years in Lt. Col. Jonathan Baldwin's Regt. of Ar- 
tificers. 

Griffin, Morris — 5th Regt., Northern^ Campaign, 1775. Later sea- 
man on the Colony brig "Defense," Mch. 21 to June 22, 1776. 

Hawley, Capt. William — A leading citizen. May, 1776, commis- 
sioned 2d Lieut, of Capt. Elijah Abel's Co. State Troops; promoted ist 
Lieut. June following. Oct., 1776, com. ist Lieut, in one of the eight 
battalions then being raised. Lieut. 4th Conn. Mil. at Fairfield, Apr., 
1777, also in the Fishkill Campaign, Oct., 1777, and was appointed Com- 
missary of the Fourth Militia Brigade. Was Capt. in 1780. He held 
various town offices and rep. the town in the Genefal Assembly at most 
of its sessions during the historic struggle. He d. Feb. 16, 1797, and 
was bur. in the Old Burying Ground. 

Hendrick, Josiah — Private, 4th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line. Enlisted 
for 3 years, Jan. i, 1781, for £30 bounty. 

Hendrix, Obed — Private, 4th Regt. Conn. Mil. Reported for re- 
fusing to march to Fairfield when called out by Capt. Gray, his com- 
manding officer, to oppose Tryon's landing, 1779. The Court, after 
hearing the evidence, decided that the defendant was not guilty of the 
matters alleged, and dismissed the case without costs. 

HiLLARD, Isaac (Hilliard?) — Com. Lieut, in ist Bat. Conn. State 
troops to serve from Nov., 1776, to Mch., 1777. 

Hilliard, Thurston — Enlisted for the war as private in Lt. Col. 
Jonathan Baldwin's Regt. of Artificers, Mass. Line. Wounded at York- 
town by a splintered timber. Was a pensioner, beginning Sept. 4, 1794- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 6o 

Milliard, William — Served in the 4th Conn. Mil., 15 days in Apr., 
1777. The succeeding Nov. enHsted as private in Lt. Col. Baldwin's 
Regt. of Artificers, Mass. Line. 

Hopkins, Henry — M. Mary Burr of Redding, July 26, 1763, and 
then probably became a resident of the town. Was in the 5th Regt. 
Conn. Line in the Northern Campaign, 1775. Corp. in the 5th Regt. 
Conn. Cont. Line, Mch. 10, 1777; was reduced, Sept. i, 1779, and disc, 
Mch. 10, 1780. He re-enlisted Jan. i, 1781, for 3 years, for £30 bounty, 
and was assigned to the 2d Regt. Conn. Cont. Line. Later he was in 
Col. Heman Swift's Regt. of the final formation. Is said to have served 
every year of the war. 

HoYT, William — Private, 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, 1777. 
Later in Lt. Col. Baldwin's Regt. of Artificers, Mass. Line. 

Hull, Ezra — Served 4 mos. at New York in Col. David Waterbury's 
Regt., 1776; 3 mos., from March, 1776, in Col. Gold Selleck Silliman's 
Regt. (of Fairfield). Was in the Danbury Raid, the Fishkill Campaign, 
1777, in the coast guards, and was called out under various "Alarms." 
Was a pensioner, beginning Mch. 4, 1831. D. Mch. 5, 1837. 

Hull, James — Private, 4th Regt. Conn. Mil, Fishkill Campaign. 

Hull, John — Private, 4th Regt. Conn. Mil, Fishkill Campaign. In 
team service 1778-9, drawing provisions to the winter encampment at 
Redding. 

Hull, John, Jr. — Son of above. In 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Cam- 
paign. D., Apr. 7, 1838. 

Hull, Lieut. Nehemiah — Lieut. 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, 
1777. In Jan., 1778, commissioned by the Legislature, Lieut, "of the 
9th Co. or train band of the 4th Regiment this State." Filled many 
town offices. 

Hull, Zalmon — Private, 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign. Fam- 
ily tradition says as teamster. D., May 18, 1839. 

Jenkins, Calvin — Enlisted Apr. i, 1778, as musician, 5th Regt. 
Conn. Cont. Line, and served to the end of the war. Pensioner, begin- 
ning Nov. II, 1818. Lived in Lonetown. 

Lines, David — In Lt. Col. Samuel Canfield's Regt. of Militia, at 
West Point, Sept., 1781. 

Lines, John — Probably in 2d Regt. Conn. Cont. Line. Received 
£30 bounty in 178 1-2. His family was cared for by the town during 
his army service. 



70 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Main, Ezekiei^Iii the 9th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line, from Aug. 26 
to Dec. 16, 1779. 

Mallorv, Daniel, Jr.— 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, 1777. 
Later in Col. Canfield's Mil. Regt. guarding Horseneck. 

Mallory, John— Private, 4th Conn. Mil. Failed to report on being 
called out to resist the enemy at Fairfield. Reported to County Court 
by his superior officer, Capt. John Gray. Seems to have made a good 
defense, as the Court dismissed the case without costs to the defendant. 

Marchant — (Merchant) — In 7th Regt. Conn. Line in the Northern 
Campaign, 1775; later in Col. Bradley's Bat. from Aug. 13 to Dec. 25, 
1776. 

Marchant, Gurdon — Private in Lt. Col. Baldwin's Rgt. of Arti- 
ficers, Mass. Line. 

Marchant, Joel — Enlisted in Col. Phillip B. Bradley's Bat. July 3, 
1776. Taken prisoner at Fort Washington, N. Y., but returned home. 
Served at various "alarms " for short periods. Was wounded at Nor- 
walk, July 11, 1779, on the British retreat from Ridgefield. Was a 
pensioner. D., Mch. 24, 1844. 

Marchant, John — In 7th Regt. Conn. Line, July 10 to Dec. 23, 
1775. Corp. Bradley's Bat. June 21 to Dec. 25, 1776. 

Meeker, Seth — Private 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, d. Feb. 
5, 1829. 

Meeker, Stephen — 5th Regt. Conn. Line, Northern Campaign, 1775. 
Enlisted for the war in 5th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line. Does not appear 
on the rolls of May, 1778. Appears in a list of soldiers dis. or deserted 
previous to January, 1780. Appears on the rolls of Capt. Parsons' Co. 
2d Regt. Conn. Cont. Line, June, 1780, as Sergeant. His Regt. was con- 
solidated with the 9th in 1781 as the 3d, and Stephen Meeker was drafted 
from this Regt. into the picked Light Infantry Bat., commanded by the 
Marquis de Lafayette, when he was promoted to be Sergt. His company 
formed part of the column of Alajor Girnat which stormed a redoubt at 
Yorktown. 

Merritt, Ebenezer — Teamster, Oct. 1778. Re-enlisted Apr. i, 1779, 
for one year, 4th Conn. Mil. In October, 1779, hired a substitute. En- 
listed for 8 m'os. in the 8th Regt. Conn. Line, served till Jan. 15th, 1780. 

Monroe. Daniel — Private 5th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line ; also served 
in Capt. Taylor's Light Infantry, 2d Regt. Conn. Gont. Line. 

Morehouse, Aaron — Fifer in Col. Silliman's Regt. at battle of Long 
Island. Enlisted Nov. i, 1775, at the age of 16. Was with his Regt. 
when it covered the retreat from New York City, Sept., 1776. Was in 



HISTORY OF REDDIXG. J I 

various "alarms" in the State militia. Served in Capt. Gershom More- 
house's Co. (his father) during the FishkiJl Campaign. He removed to 
Newtown, Conn., and died there Dec. 3, 1833, 'but is buried in Christ 
Churchyard, Redding Ridge. He was a pensioner. 

Morehouse, Billy — Brother of above. In the 4th Regt. Conn. Mil. 
Also cited before the County Court at Fairfield for failure to march to the 
relief of Fairfield in 1779, but satisfied the Court that he had a reasonable 
excuse, as the complaint was dismissed without costs. 

Morehouse, Elijah — Private 4th Conn. Mil. in the Fishkill Cam- 
paign, 1777. 

Morehouse, Capt. Gershom — A prominent citizen, enlisted as a 
private but was soon commissioned 1st Lieut, ist Bat. Wads worth's 
Brigade, and later promoted to a captaincy. He led "his company at the 
battle of White Plains, N. Y., Oct. 28, 1776, and after it went out with 
a flag of truce and met his son-in-law, a captain in the British army. 
Later he served as 'Captain in the 4th Conn. Mil. in the Fishkill Cam- 
paign, 1777. Filled various town offices. D. Jan. 22, 1805. (See 
Morehouse Family, Chap. XXHL) 

Morgan, Joseph — Also cited before the County Court to answer for 
not marching with Capt. Gray's Company to the relief of Fairfield in 
1779. He appeared and made so good a defence that the Court dis- 
missed the case without costs. 

Osborn, David — Sergt. 4th Conn. Mil. in Fishkill Campaign, 1777. 

Parsons, Abraham — 'Enlisted while a boy. Was in the battle of 
White Plains and in other parts of Westchester Co. In the skirmish at 
Horseneck under Putnam, Feb. 25, 1779. Was a private in Col. Water- 
bury's Regt. of State troops, 1781. After the war Mr. Parsons m. Urana 
'Starr and settled on Gallows Hill, near one of the "Camps" of 1778-9. 
He was a well educated man and full of anecdotes of Geneial Putnam 
and other officers. He often drew vivid pictures of the privations en- 
dured by the soldiers at the Camp which he himself had seen and 
endured. He died in Ridgefield, March 16, 1852, at the ripe age of 88 
years and 25 days. 

Parsons. Daniel — Brother of above. Served five terms in the Rev- 
olutionary army ; mostly in the 4th Conn. Militia. Rem. to Veteran, 
Tioga Co., N. Y. Was a pensioner. 

Parsons, Timothy — Captured by the British in the Danbury Raid 
and carried to New York. Was a native of Norwalk but long a resident 
of Redding, d. Nov. 30, 1810. 

Patchen, Andrew — In 5th Conn. Regt. Northern Campaign. 1775. 



n 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Patchen, Ebenezer— Private 5th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line for 3 yrs. 
from Jan. 11, 1777. Tradition says he was the soldier wlio saved the 
life of Arnold at Ridgefield, Apr. 27, 1777, by shooting a British soldier 
who was aiming at the General. 

Patchen, Jacob — Made prisoner in the Danbury Raid but escaped. 
Private in the 4th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line for 3 years from Jan. i, 1781. 
Was a pensioner. 

Patchen, Martin — In 5th Regt., Conn. Line, in the Northern Cam- 
paign, 1775. Mch. II, 1776, enlisted as seaman on the Colony brig "De- 
fence," Capt. Seth Harding. 

Perry, George — In 5th Conn. Regt., Northern Campaign. Sergt. 
4t'h Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, 1777. 

Perry, Isaac — Daniel Perry received an order on the Colony treas- 
urer for four shillings and sixpence for getting Isaac Perry, "a lame 
soldier," home from the Northern Camp. He was in Capt. Zalmon 
Read's Company, Col. Waterbury's Regt. 

Platt, Isaac — An artificer in Col. Baldwin's Regt. of the Mass. Line. 
Was a pensioner, d. Oct. 19, 1824. 

Pl.\tt, Jonas — ^Made prisoner in the Danbury Raid. Private 4th 
Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, Oct. 1777. Recruit for the Cont. Army, 
1780, for 3 mos. and received a bounty. 

Platt, Samuel — ^Private in Col. Baldwin's Regt. of Artificers, Mass. 
Line, for 3 yrs. from Dec. 24, 1777. Was a pensioner. 

Platt, Zebulon — In 4th Conn. Mil. Was tw^ice reported by Capt. 
Gray for failure to march with his company (Gray's) ; first, June 3, 1779, 
to the North River "to join the troops there assembled and Defend 
Against the enemies of the United States of America," and 2d, on July 
7, 1779, "to march to Fairfield to join the troops there collecting to op- 
pose the enemy." On the first count the Court found him not guilty but 
levied the costs, "£30 lawful money," on him. On the second he was 
found not guilty and the case was dismissed without costs. 

Plummer, David — Enlisted from Redding, 178 1-2, received a bounty 
of £30. 

Read, Capt. Zalmon — He was a son of Col. John Read of Lonetown 
Manor, and first entered the service in May, 1775, when he was commis- 
sioned Captain of the loth Co., 5th Regt., Conn. Line for the Northern 
Campaign. He served throughout that with honor and was discharged 
Nov. 28, 1775. The next year found him at the defense of New York 
as Captain of the 2d Co., ist Bat. Wads worth's Brig, of the Conn. State 
troops. In March, 1777, he was in command of his old Company of the 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



73 



4th Regfiment and served in the Danbury Raid. In the Fishkill Cam- 
paign he distinguished himself and received special mention. No further 
record of service. Later mention of the name no doubt refers to his 
son. D., Jan. 15, 1801. 

Read, Ensign Zalmon — Son of above. Private in 4th Conn. Mil., 
Fishkill Campaign, 1777. Jan. i, 1781, was com. by Gen. Parsons En- 
sign in the ist Regt. Conn. Cont. Line, and served mostly in the High- 
lands until the disbandment of the army. He was a pensioner dating 
from March 4, 183 1, receiving an annual allowance of $240. He died 
Oct. 3, 1846, and is buried in the Read b. g. 

Remong (Raymond?), Samuel — Enlisted Apr. i, 1778, 2d Regt. 
Conn. Cont. Line. Deserted ; rejoined ; again deserted and was mustered 
out May, 1780. Joined the Corps of Sappers and Miners Sept. 8, 1780, 
and is supposed to 'have been at Yorktown, 1781. Was in the service as 
late as 1783. 

RoBBiNS, Ephraim — Was in Capt. Gershom Morehouse's Company 
in the Fishkill Campaign. Was on various committees of the town, and 
is said to have removed, where is not known. 

Rogers, Ensign Joseph — Was Ensign in the 2d Regt. Conn. Cont. 
Line and served from the spring of 1781 to the end of the war. Rem. 
to Putnam Co., N. Y., after the war. Was a pensioner. 

RuMSEY, Jeremiah — Served in the 2d Regt. Conn. Cont. Line from 
Apr. 26, 1782 to Jan. i, 1783. 

RuMSEY, John — ^Private 7th Regt Conn. Line, July to Dec. 1775. 
Enlisted May 21, 1777, for the war and was in the 2d Regt. formation of 
1783. Rem. to Vermont. Was a pensioner. 

RuMSEY, Nathan — Was in the Northern Campaign in the 5th Regt. 
Conn. Line. Disc. Nov. 28, 1775. Enlisted May 21, 1777, for the war, 
-and was assigned to the 7th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line. Deserted August, 
1780, but returned. 

Ryan, Jeremiah — In the Northern Campaign, 5th Regt. Conn. Line. 
Enlisted 1776, and served at Fort Schuyler: again Apr. 29, 1777, in the 
2d Regt. Cont. Artillery and served as "bombardier" until 1 780-1. Called 
"Green Jimmy" by his comrades. 

Salmon, Col. Asahel — Served in various commands from the be- 
ginning of the war. First in McDougal's N. Y. Regt. for 10 mos. and in 
tlie 19th Continental Line. Was in the 4th Conn. Mil. in the Fishkill 
Campaign and attained the rank of Sergt. From April, 1780, served 9 
mos. in Col. Bezaleel Beebe's Regt. of State troops. From Feb., 1781, to 
June 1783, he served in the 8th Regt. Conn. Cont, Line, second formation. 



tjA HISTORY OF REDDING. 

He remained in the militia service after the war and rose to be Lt.-Col.. 
of the 4th Conn. Mil. Pie was a pensioner. 

Salmon, Gershom — In the 5th Regt. Conn. Line in the Northern 
Campaign. Later served as private in the 4th Conn. Mil, Fis'hkill Cam- 
paign. 

Sanford, Aaron — Served in the 5th Regt. Conn. Line in the North- 
ern Campaign, 1/75, and in the 4th Conn. Mil. in the Fishkill Campaign, 
1777. 

Sanford, David — A private in the 4th Conn. Mil. at the defense of 
New York in June, 1776, and fought at White Plains October 28 of that 
year, and was furloughed on account of sickness. Was in the Danbury 
Raid and in the action at Ridgefield ; was also in the Fishkill Campaign, 
and in several "alarms" at Fairfield and Norwalk. d. June 15, 1787. 

Sanford, Ebenezer — ^In 1779 w-as in the coast guard at Green's 
Farms, and in various alarms. In 1780 enlisted in the Regt. of State 
troops commanded by Col. Bezaleel Beebe, and served 9 mos. 

Sanford, Ezekiel — 'Com. Lieut, in 5th Regt. Conn. Line for the 
Northern Campaign, 1775. Was ist Lieut, in Wadsworth's Brig, in the 
defense of New York, 1776. In 1777, appointed Capt. in the 5th Regt. 
Conn. Cont. Line; resigned Mch. 17, 1778. January, 1780, aippointed 
Capt. in the 2d Regt. then being raised to defend the State, but declined. 
He served on various town committees during the war. Was a pensioner. 
d. Mch. 8, 1808. 

Sanford, Ezra — Private, 4th Conn. Mil., Fishkill Campaign, 1777. 

Sanford, James — Served throughout the war, first as a teamster. 
In 1779-80-81, he was drafted for service in the coast guard at various 
times and performed his duties acceptably. He was a pensioner. 

Sanford, Seth — Ensign in the 4th Conn. Mil. in the Fishkill Cam- 
paign, 1777. Was much in public life, holding various town offices. 

Sherwood, Jehiel — Ensign 4th Conn. Mil., January, 1780. 

Sherwood, Nehemiah — Served in various alarms under different 
commanders. Pensioned in 1832. 

Sherwood, Thomas— Private, 4th Conn. Mil., in the Fishkill Cam- 
paign, 1777. 

Smith, Erastus— A soldier in the 4th Regt. Conn. Mil. ; was haled 
before the County Court at Fairfield in 1779, for refusing to march with 
his regiment to the North River, and fined the costs, £22, i6s., though 
the Court found him not guilty of the charge. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 75 

Springer, John — Enlisted from Redding for £30 bounty, but desert- 
ed June 26, 1 78 1. 

Springer, Whala — Enlisted from Feb. 7, 1781, for bounty of £30. 
Served acceptably and was disc. 1784. 

Sturges, David — In 5th Conn. Regt. in the Northern Campaign, 
1775, and in the 4th Conn. Mil. in the Fishkill Campaign, 1777. 

Thompson, James — Enlisted from Redding, 1781, for £30 bounty. 

Thorp, Lyman— In Col. Baldwin's Regt. of Artificers for 3 years. 

Weeks, Micajah — Entered the Cont. service in 1776. Served in 
various commands and had a somewhat remarkable career as a fighting 
man. He fought in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Germantown, 
Monmouth, Stony Point and Yorktown, acquitting himself creditably in 
each. Served five years. Was a pensioner. Rem. to Delaware Co., N. 
Y., and d. Mch. 27, 1826. 

Wheeler, Ephraim — Enlisted, May 12, 1777, for the war and was 
' assigned to the 5th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line; he deserted Nov. 23, 1777; 
rejoined the ranks, Apr., 1779, and again deserted, Feb. 10, 1780. 

White Charles — Was in the 5th Conn. Regt. in the Northern Cam- 
paign, 1775, and afterward served in the militia. 

Williams, Jabez — Enlisted in the 5th Regt. Conn. Cont. Line, Dec. 
16, 1776. Rem. to New Milford, Vt., about 1784. 

Wilson, Isaac — Enlisted for the war Mch. 7, 1779. 

Youngs, Christopher — Enlistd, 1781-2, for a bounty of £30. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Redding Loyalist Association and the Loyalists. 

For many years after the Revolution the term ''Tory" was one of 
reproach, of approbrium ; it conveyed not only reprobation, but detesta- 
tion and contempt. Within the past few years, however, since the close 
of our own civil war, a kindlier feeling toward the men who were loyal 
to their king and country and did their duty as they saw it has obtained. 
As a rule the loyalists were men of culture, wealth, refinement, and 
leaders in their respective communities. In Redding at the outbreak of 
the struggle, they were very numerous, so many indeed, and of so much 
ability that they formed a "Reading Loyalist Association," and drew up 



76 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



a series of "Resolutions," which they sent to James Rivington's Gazet- 
teer, the government organ in New York City, with a preamble as fol- 
lows: 

"Mr. Rivington : In the present critical situation of publick affairs, 
we, the subscribers, Freeholders and Inhabitants of the town of Read- 
ing and the adjoining parts in the County of Fairfield, and Colony of 
Connecticut, think it necessary (through the columns of your paper) to 
assure the publick that we are open enemies to any change in the present 
happy Constitution, and highly disapprove of all measures in any degree 
calculated to promote confusion and disorder ; for which purpose and 
in order to avoid the general censure, incurred by a great part of this 
colony from the mode of conduct here adopted for the purpose of oppos- 
ing the British Government, we have entered into the following resolves 
and agreements, viz : 

First. Resolved, That while we enjoy the privileges and immunities 
of the British Constitution we will render all due obedience to his most 
Gracious Majesty King George the Third, and that a firm dependence 
on the Mother Country is essential to our political safety and happiness. 

Second. Resolved, That the privileges and immunities of this Con- 
stitution are yet (in a good degree) continued to all his Majesty's 
American subjects, except those who, we conceive, have justly forfeited 
their right thereto. 

Third. Resolved, That we supposed the Continental Congress was 
constituted for the purpose of restoring harmony between Great Britain 
and her colonies and removing the displeasure of his Majesty toward his 
American subjects, whereas on the contrary some of their resolutions 
appear to us immediately calculated to widen the present unhappy breach, 
counteract the first principles of civil society, and in a great degree 
abridge the privileges of their constituents. 

Fourth. Resolved, That notwithstanding we will in all circumstances 
conduct with prudence and moderation we consider it an indispensable 
duty we owe to our King and Constitution, our Country and posterity, 
to defend, maintain and preserve at the risk of our lives and properties 
the prerogatives of the Crown, and the privileges of the subject from all 
attacks by any rebellious body of men, any Committees of Inspection, 
Correspondence, &c. 

("Signed by one hundred and forty-one Inhabitants whose names 
are to be seen at the Printer's." — adds Rivington.) 

The effect of this document on the patriots of Redding was like that 
of a red flag on a bull. They at once set to work to discover its signers 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



n 



and presently made public in a circular the entire list so far as they be- 
longed in Redding. It was given out by the Committee of Observation 
under this preamble : 

"Whereas, There was a certain number of resolves published — and 
whereas said Resolves are injurious to the rights of this Colony, and 
breathe a spirit of enmity and opposition to the rights and liberties of all 
America and are in direct opposition to the Association of the Con- 
tinental Congress : and notwithstanding said resolutions were come into 
with a (seeming) view to secure the said signers some extraordinary 
privileges and immunities, yet either through negligence in the printer 
or upon design of the subscribers, said signed names are not made pub- 
lick — and now if there be any advantage in adopting those principles we 
are willing they should be entitled there to ; and for which end and for 
the more effectual carrying into execution said Association we have 
taken some pains and by the assistance of him who carried said resolves 
to said Printer we have obtained the whole of said names. But as we 
mean not to publish the names of any except those who belong to said 
Reading, their names are as follows : 
David Knap^ Daniel Morehouse, 

Andrew Knap, Ephraim Deforest, 

Daniel Lyon, Lazarus Beach, 

Nehemiah Seelye, Jr. Seth Hull, 
Stephen Lacy, Hezekiah Platt, 

James Adams, Zebulon Platt, 

Zaccheus jNIorehouse, Timothy Platt, 
Ephraim Whitlock, Lazarus Wheeler, 



Jabez Lyon, 
Prince Hawse, 
Andrew Patch en, 
EzEKiEL Hill, 
David Manrow, 
Obed Hendrix, 
Isaac Platt, 
Enos Lee, 
John Lee, 
Nathaniel Barlow, 
AsAEL Patchen, 
Benjamin Sturgis, 
Ebenezer Sturgis, 
William Lee, 
Seth Banks, 
David Turney, 
John Sanford, 



Joshua Hall, 
Jonathan Knap, 
James Gray, 
Peter Lyon, 
John Drew, 
John Lyon, 
John Mallery, 
John Raymond, 
Eli Lyon, 
Enos Wheeler, 
Da\id Crowfoot, 
Thomas Munson, 
Nehemiah Seely, 
Charles IMcNeil, 
Stephen Betts, 
Ephraim Meeker, 
John Layne, 



Jonathan Meeker, 
Samuel Hawley, 
Jonathan Mallery,Jr. 
John Seymour, 
Jesse Bearsele, 
Darling Oyer, 
Ebenezer Williams, 
Paul Bartram, 
John Gyer, 
Abel Burr, 
Shubael Bennett, 
John Picket, 
John Picket, Jr., 
James Morgan, 
Nathaniel Oyer, 
Asa Norton, 
Eleazur Olmstead, 
Isaac Bunnell, 
Thaddeus Manrow,,. 
Joseph Gyer, 
John Sherwood, 
Simeon Munger, 
Joseph Burr. 



78 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



The Committee adds : 

"There are only forty-two Freeholders in the above number. There 
are several minors, &c., to make the above number of seventy-four that 
belong to said Reading, and we hereby hold them up to the publick as 
opposers to the Association of said Congress. 

Signed by order of the Committee of Observation for said town of 
Reading, 

Ebenezer Couch, 

Chairman." 

The "Association" met this by publishing the entire list of signers, 
one hundred and forty-two in all, and the war began in earnest. Not 
all of those who had signed were ardent adherents to the British cause, 
and a little "pressure," which the Whigs well knew how to apply, soon 
won them over to the patriot cause. Others were loyalists from innate 
conviction, and these were treated with such severity that they fled into 
the forests and caves of the earth, whence, wherever possible, they made 
their way into the British lines. The story of the suffering and sacrifices 
of a few of them may properly find a place in these annals. 

Their most trusted and beloved leader was no doubt the Rev. John 
Beach, Rector of Christ Episcopal Church on Redding Ridge.* Obe- 
dience to his king was to him as obligatory as obedience to his God, and 
neither threats nor persecution could move him from the path of duty. 
He was not active ; he signed an agreement not to take up arms for the 
British cause; also one not to discourage enlistments in the American 
army (a paper signed by many of the loyalists in the fall of 1775) ; but 
in the use of the Liturgy in the church service he steadfastly refused to 
omit the prayers for the king, a position which soon brought upon him 
the active persecution of the Whigs. In 1888 there was found among 
the papers of Charles Beach, great grandson of the stern preacher, the 
following letter, which speaks for itself : 

" Redding, Feb. 12th, 1778. 
"Dear Sir : We have no disposition to restrain or limit you or others 
in matters of conscience. But understanding that you, in your Public 
Worship, still continue to pray that the King of Great Britain may be 
strengthened to vanquish and overcome all his enemies, which manner of 
praying must be thought to be a great insult upon the Laws, Authority, 
and People of this State, as you and others can but know that the King 
of England has put the People of these United States from under his 
protection. Declared them Rebels, and is now at open war with said 
States, and consequently we are his enemies. 

'''See Chapter x. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



/9 



"Likewise you must have understood that the American States have 
declared themselves independent of any Foreign Power — Now Sir, in 
order that we may have peace and quietness at home among ourselves, 
we desire that for the future you would omit praying in Public that 
King George the third or any other foreign Prince, or Power, may 
vanquish, etc., the People of this Land. 

"Your compliance herewith may prevent you trouble. 

"We are. Rev. Sir, with due Respect, your obedient humble servants. 

"To the Revd. John Beach. 

Lem'l Sanford, 
Wm. Hawley, 

Justices. 
Hezekiah Sanford, 
Seth Sanford, 
Thad. Benedict, 
John Grey, 
Wm. Heron, 

Selectmen of Redding." * 
Mr. Beach, however, continued to read the prayers for the King, and 
tradition says that one Sabbath while so engaged a zealous partisan 
fired at him through the open door, the bullet imbedding itself in the 
sounding-board behind him. Years after, when that sounding-board 
was taken down, the bullet was discovered, taken out and kept in her 
work basket for many years by Mrs. James Sanford of Redding, a 
grand-daughter of the divine. When the tablet to the memory of Mr. 
Beach was placed in the present church edifice on Redding Ridge, the 
bullet, at the suggestion of the Rev. Mr.. Wilkins. then Rector, was 
placed in the tablet, where it now remains. On another occasion a party 
of soldiers entered his church at Newtown and threatened to fire on him 
if he read the prayers for the king. This statement is on the authority 
of the late Bishop Williams, who related the anecdote to the clergy in 
Dr. Marble's study in Newtown, after the service at the opening of the 
present Trinity Church in Newtown, and afterward wrote it out at the 
request of the late Rev. Dr. Beardsley, as follows : 

"Stopping for the night at an inn in the neighborhood of Schuylers- 
ville (N. Y.), perhaps in the place itself, I met an aged man, the father, 
I think, of the innkeeper, who told me that he was born and passed his 
early life in Newtown, Conn. He also told me that he perfectly re- 
membered being in the church at Newtown when soldiers entered, ser- 
vice being then in progress, and threatened to shoot the officiating minis- 
ter, the Rev. John Beach, if he read the prayers for the king and the 

*From Miss Rebecca D. Beach's "Beach-Sanford Genealogy," p. ii5- 



8o HISTORY OF REDDING. 

royal family, Mr. Beach, he said, went on as usual, with no change 
or even tremor in his voice, and read the obnoxious prayers. My in- 
formant added that he believed (his recollection on this point was not 
quite positive) that they, struck with the quiet courage of Mr. Beach, 
stacked their muskets and remained through the service." 

It is also told of him, that he was taken once from his house by an 
armed squad and escorted to the foot of the hill near by and there com- 
manded to kneel down and pray, as they were about to shoot him. He 
knelt and prayed, not for himself, but for them, and with such fervor 
and power that, dismayed and conscience smitten, they silently withdrew, 
leaving him unharmed. 

Mr. Beach continued in his policy of passive resistance, but did not 
live to see the defeat of his cause, as he died March 19, 1782, at the ripe 
old age of eighty-two.* 

Lazarus Beach, son of Rev. John Beach, followed in the footsteps of 
his father, and was a thorn in the flesh of the patriots of Redding. The 
following extracts from the minutes of the Governor and Council show 
the manner of proceeding adopted by the Whigs in disciplining their 
Tory neighbors : 

"Lazarus Beach, Andrew Fairchild, Nathan Lee, Enos Lee, Abel 
Burr, of Reading, and Thomas Allen, of Newtown, in the county of 
Fairfield, being Tory convicts and sent by order of law to be confined in 
the town of Mansfield to prevent any mischievous practices of theirs, 
having made their escape and being taken up and remanded back to his 
Honor the Governor and this Council, to be dealt with, &c. 

"Resolved, and ordered by the Governor and his Council aforesaid, 
that the said Lazarus Beach (&c.) be committed to the keeper of the 
goal in Windham, within said prison to be safely kept untill they come 
out thence by due order of the General Assembly, or the Governor and 
his Council of Safety, and that they pay cost oFtheir being apprehended 
and being remanded, etc., allowed to be £25, 3s, od. Mittimus granted 
Jan'y 28, 1777." 

On Feb. 10, 1777, by another order of the Governor and Council the 
same persons were ordered discharged from the goal on their parole, on 
their paying all the costs of commitment and all costs that had since 
arisen. Beach, Burr, Fairchild and Allen were ordered to return to 
Mansfield and there abide under the direction of the Committee of In- 
spection of that town, while the two Lees were permitted to return home 
on their giving bonds for their good behavior. Mr. Beach probably saw 
the error of his ways as the war progressed, for after it closed he was 



*For a further account of Mr. Beach, see Giapter X. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 8 1 

permitted to reside on his ample estate in Redding and there died Jan. 
20, 1800. 

The case of Dr. Nehemiah Clarke of Hartford, was as sad and pa- 
thetic as is to be found in any of the annals of self-sacrifice, or the lives 
of the martyrs. When the war broke oat he was living in Hartford 
with an interesting family, a lucrative practice, and a comfortable home. 
No man's prospects in the capital city were more flattering. Yet con- 
science made him an adherent of the Crown, and so obnoxious to the 
Whigs was he that early in 1774 he removed to Redding, probably be- 
cause of the influential colony of tories there. In an evil hour, in 
February of that year, he returned to Hartford to adjust some business 
affairs there, was seized by a mob and so maltreated that his life was 
despaired of. Managing to escape he returned to Redding, but the 
patriot arm was long enough to reach thither, and soon after his arrival 
there he was again seized by a "numerous banditti," to use his own 
words, and thrown into the guard house, from which he could only 
effect his release by signing a bond of iiooo not to go over to the enemy.. 
This did not afford entire protection, however, for on the loth of May, 
probably because of indiscreet acts or words on his part, he was forced 
again to flee to the woods for safety and remained there, leading the life 
of a hunted animal until the December following, when he succeeded in 
reaching the British lines, leaving his wife and five children in the hands- 
of his enemies without any means of support. He served through the 
war as a surgeon in the British army and on the concluding of a treaty 
of peace removed, with other loyalists, to the wilds of New Brunswick 
and was one of the grantees of the present beautiful city of St. John,, 
capital of that province. 

The following extracts from court records will show the legal pro- 
cess employed in the confiscation of Tories' estates. Such extreme meas- 
ures were not usually adopted unless the person had actually gone over 
to the enemy: 

"On information of the selectmen of the town of Redding, in Fair- 
field County, showing to the Special County Court, held at Fairfield in 
and for said county on the 6th day of August, 1777, That there is Real 
Estate Lying in said Redding which Belongs to Joseph Burr, of said 
Redding, who has put and continues to hold and screen himself under 
the Protection of the Ministerial Army, &c. A writ was issued by Or- 
der of said court, dated August 7th, 1777, to seize and to hold said estate 
and to be dealt with according to law. The said Burr was called at this 
Court and made Default of Appearance. Thereupon this Court have 
now Considered the Evidence Relative to said Burr's screening himself 
as aforesaid, Do order that the Real Estate of said Burr, According ta 



32 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

the Officers' Return on said Writ, be Leafed out for the use and benefit 
of this State — and for that purpose this Court has Appointed Thad's 
Benedict, Esq., of Redding." 

His goods atKl chattels were taken under another instrument, as fol- 
lows: 

Fairfield, Adj'd County Court, 

2d Tuesday, Decembr., 1777. 

"On Information of the selectmen of the Town of Redding in Fair- 
field County, Showing to Lemuel Sanford, Esq., Justice of the Peace 
for said County, That there is Goods, Chatties and effects in said Redding 
which Belongs to Joseph Burr, of said Redding, who had put and con- 
tinues to hold and screen himself under the protection of the Ministerial 
Army, &c. Said Justice issued out a Writ, dated Aug'st 14, 1777, to 
seize and to hold said Estate and to be dealt with according to Law. 
The said Burr was called at this Court — made Default of Appearance — • 
This Court, having considered the evidences Relative to said Burr's 
screening himself as aforesaid, do order that the Goods and effects, ac- 
cording to the Officer's Return on said Writ of said Burr, be Forfeited 
to the Use and Benefit of this State, and that they be sold according to 
law, and that execution be Granted, &c." 

In December of the same year the real estate of the unfortunate exile, 
which had been ordered leased in August, was ordered sold, as appears 
by the following : 

"Whereas, the selectmen of the Town of Redding in Fairfield Coun- 
ty, did inform John Read, Esqr., Justice of the Peace for said County, 
that there is estate in Redding and Fairfield, in said county, that Belongs 
to Joseph Burr, late of said Redding, who has gone over to, Joined with 
and Screened himself under the protection of the Ministerial Army, &c. ; 
said Burr was Summoned to appear at this Court to show reason why 
said Estate should not be Declared Forfeit, &c., as per Writ on file, dated 
October 15th, 1778. Said Burr was called at this Court and made De- 
fault of Appearance. Thereupon this Court, having considered the evi- 
dence Relative to said Burr's Screening himself as aforesaid. Do order 
that the Estate of said Burr be and the same is hereby Forfeited to and 
for the use and Benefit of this State, and that the same be Further Dealt 
with According to Law." 

Isaac Drew, Ephraim DeForest, John, Joseph and Peter Lyon, and 
Daniel Read, were among those whose lands were confiscated by regu- 
lar Court proceedings. Many others were fined for refusing to perform 
military duty. But at last peace came — the Whigs were triumphant. 
What now was to be done with the men who had gone over to the 
€nemy and fought against their old friends and neighbors? Manifestly 




CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, 
Redding Centre. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 83 

there was no place for them in the new Commonwealth. Lucifer among 
the heavenly hosts would not have been more out of place. Banishment 
was the stern decree, and the Whigs of Redding were by no means back- 
ward in carrying it out. They called a town meeting Aug. ii, 1783, 
and "Put to voute," "whether it is the minds of this Aleeting that ye 
selectmen of this Town be desired to remove out of this Town all those 
Persons that have been over to and Joined the Enemy and returned into 
this Town, and that they pursue the business as fast as they conveniently 
can according to Lazv. Passed in the Affirmative." 

A few who had prominent kindred among the Whigs, or who had 
not rendered themselves particularly obnoxious, were spared, but most 
of them were driven into exile. The British Government granted them 
lands in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where they made new homes 
wonderfully like to those they left behind, as the traveler along the 
beautiful shores of the Bav of Fundv can but note. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Congregational Church, 1 729- 1 906. 

The Congregational church was the first religious body organized in 
the town. Deeply impressed as were our Puritan forefathers with the 
value of religion to the soul, they were equally impressed with its value 
to the state, and were careful to rear, side by side with their civil struc- 
ture, the Church, in which, as they beHeved, the pure Gospel of Christ 
was preached, and the soundest principles of morality inculcated. Proof 
of their pious care in this respect is to be found in the history of Redding, 
as in that of almost every New England town. As early as August, 
1729, but three months after they had wrung a reluctant consent from 
the mother town to assume parish privileges, we find them providing for 
the settlement of a minister among them in the following manner : 

"At a Society Meeting held in the Society of Redding, Deacon 
George Hull chosen Moderator. It was voited that s'd Society would 
give for the settlement of a minister in s'd society the sum of seventy 
pounds, and a house, and his wood, and bring it up, and the next year 
eighty pounds, and raise five pounds a year till it comes to one hundred 
pounds a year. It was voted, that Edmond Luis, esquire, shall decide 



84 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

the matter as to seting the meeting hous, it was voited that s'd Mr. Luis 
should come the first week in October to decide the matter afores'd." 

No minister was settled, however, until 1733 ; the first church edifice 
was erected early in 1732. It stood a few yards west of the present 
Methodist church, and nearly in the centre of the public square or com- 
mon.* A photograph or rough sketch even, of this first church in Red- 
ding, would be invaluable to men of the present day ; we are certain,^ 
however, that it was a much more elegant and finished edifice than was ; 
common in the new settlements. It was two stories high, as we shall i 
see, and of quite respectable dimensions. It was also lathed and plas- 
tered, and furnished with galleries, and windows of imported glass, but 
further details are lacking. All that is to be found in the church records 
concerning the building is contained in the following extracts : 

November 12th, 1730. — It was voted "that we will build a meting- 
hous in said society for the worship of God in the Presbyterian way. 
Voted that the meting-hous shall be thirty feet long, twenty eight feet 
wide, and two stories high, voted, that Lemuel Sanford, Thomas Wil- 
liams, and Daniel Lion, (be) chosen committee for (building) s'd met- 
ing hous." 

Feb. 23d, 1 730-1. — "You that are of the minds that all those persons 
that do, or hereafter may inhabit in this parish, which profess themselfs 
to be of the Church of England, shall have free liberty to come into this 
meting hous that is now in building, and attend the Publick worship of 
God there, according to the articles of faith agreed upon by the assembly 
of Divines at Seabrook, and established by the laws of this Government, 
and be seated in s'd hous according to their estats." 

November 3d, 1732. — "Stephen Burr hath undertaken to cart stones 
and clay for the underpinning the meting hous for i lb. los. cod. Daniel 
Lion hath undertaken to underpin the meting hous and tend himself for 
2 lbs. 4s. od. Daniel Lion hath undertaken to get the lath and lay them 
on for 3 lbs. os. od. Stephen Burr and Theophilus Hull are chosen 
committee to take care of the parsonage" (probably to secure a par- 
sonage for the expected preacher, as it is not likely that one was then 
built). 

It was as yet, however, a church without a pastor. Mr. Elisha Kent 
had been called in October, 1730, but had declined, as we infer from the 
silence of the records on the subject. A Society meeting held Alay 8th, 
1732, extended a similar call to the Rev. Timothy Mix, and deputed 

*The corner-stone of the old church may still be seen on the common, a little 
south of a line drawn from Prof. Frank Abbott's to the store formerly occupied bjr 

Mr. Mandeville. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 85 

Deacon George Hull "to go to the association at Stanford to ask advice 
concerning the settlement of Mr. Mix"; but this call, as in the case of 
Mr. Kent, seems to have been declined. At length a unanimous call was 
made to the Rev. Nathaniel Hun, as follows : 

Jan. 31, 1732-3. — "At a society meeting held in the parish (of) Read- 
ing, George Hull chosen Moderator for s'd meting, Mr. Nathaniel Hunn 
by a voit neniinc contradicente was made chois of for the minister of s'd 
parish, furthermore it was voited at s'd meting to settle upon the s'd Mr. 
Hunn's yearly sallery as followeth, that is, for the first year of his ad- 
ministration, seventy pounds current money or bills of Public Credit in 
New England, the second year, seventy-five pounds, for the third year, 
eighty pounds, for the fourth year, eighty five pounds, the fifth year 
ninety pounds, the sixth year, ninety five pounds, the seventh year, a 
hundred pounds, all in currant money as afores'd, and so on a hundred 
pounds a year during the term of his continuance in the ministry in s'd 
parish, and also to give the s'd Mr. Hunn the whole and sole priviledge 
of all the parsonage land belonging to s'd parish, and to provide him his 
firewood, during the term aboves'd, also to find him a convenient dwell- 
ing hous for the first five years, also to give the s'd Mr. Hunn, a hun- 
dred acres of land on or before the day of his ordination." 

Feb. 20th, 1732-3. — "It was voited that the ordination of Mr. Hunn 
shall be on the 21st day of March next," and John Read and George 
Hull were chosen a committee "to represent the parish concerning the 
ordination of Mr. Hunn." From this point we have for a guide the 
church records in the handwriting of Mr. Hunn, its settled pastor. It 
is called "A Book of Records Wherein is an account, ist of the trans- 
actions of the church, 2d of persons received to communion, 3rd of per- 
sons baptized, 4th of marriages, 5th of deaths, 6th of persons who re- 
new the covenant." 

The Rev. Sidney G. Law, in his Centennial Sermon, dehvered at 
Redding, July 6th, 1876, thus speaks of Mr. Hunn's pastorate: 

"His first record is very brief for so important a matter, viz : 'March 
2ist, 1733, I was separated to the work of the ministry by prayer and 
fasting, and the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery.' The next 
record gives the choice of deacons, viz: 'At a church meeting INIarch 
29, 1733, we made choice of Stephen Burr for a deacon, and some time 
after we chose Theo. Hull to the same service. . . . ' The next 
records relate to the adoption of Tate and Brady's version of the Psalms, 
first for one month, and then for the indefinite future. The first mem- 
bers of the church enumerated by Mr. Hun were as follows : Col. John 
Read and wife. Theophilus Hull and wife, George Hull and wife, Peter 
Burr and wife, Daniel Lion and wife, Daniel Bradley and wife, Stephen 



35 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Burr and wife, Ebenezer Hull and wife, John Grififen, Nathaniel San- 
ford, Thomas Fairchild, Lemuel Sanford, Benjamin Lion and wife, 
Mary wife of Richard Lion, Isaac Hull, Esther wife of Thomas Wil- 
liams, Esther wife of Benjamin Hamilton. Thus it appears that the 
church was organized with twenty-six members, including the two dea- 
cons, about the time that Mr. Hun was ordained, viz., the 21st of March^ 
1733. Mr. Hunn married Ruth, a sister of Col. Read.* He was pastor 
of the church sixteen years. During this time he received about ninety- 
two men)bers into the church, the most of them by letter of recommenda- 
tion from neighboring churches. He performed thirty-five marriages 
and one hundred and ninety-two baptisms. He died while on a journey, 
and was buried in Boston in 1749. His widow, Ruth Hunn, died in 1766, 
and was buried near her brother. Col. John Read, in the cemetery west of 
the parsonage." 

Mr. Hunn's administration seems to have been a happy and prosper- 
ous one, and few events of importance occurred during its continuance. 
The records are taken up with cases of church discipline, with additions 
to his salary, providing his firewood, and with repairs to the meeting 
house. 

in 1738 it was voted "to finish glassing the meting hous, and to finish 
seating the meting hous as is begun, and do something to the pulpit." 
In 1739, "voted, that Sergt. Joseph Lee shall get Mr. Hun's wood, and 
have seven pounds for it." "Voted that the place for putting up warn- 
ings for society meetings be changed from Umpawaug to the mill door." 
In 1740, "voted to rectifie the meting hous in the following articles, viz. 
to put in new glass where it is wanting, and to mend the old. To lay 
some beams in the gallery and double floor. To fasten the meting hous 
doors ; to m.ake stairs up the gallery ; to put a rail on the foreside of the 
gallery," and "that the place for parish meeting shall be at the school 
house, by the meting hous for the future." In 1741, "voted, to seat the 
meting hous in the lower part with plain strong seats." In 1742, "voted 
to impower the parish committee to agree with a person to beat the drum 
as a signal to call the people together on the sabbath." Again, Feb. 15, 
1743-4, "It was voted that the timber and boards provided for seating 
the meeting house, shall be improved to that end for the use of the 
Parish." These entries though unimportant in themselves give us 
pleasant glimpses of the healthy and active life of the church. Mr. Hunn 
died in the summer or fall of 1749, and for the four following years the 

'''She was a daughter of the Hon. John Read, who settled at Lonetown in 
1714. Both Mr. Law and Mr. Barber are in error in supposing that the original 
John Read lived and died in Redding. He removed to Boston in 172-2. and his 
son John succeeded to his title, and to the manor at Lonetown. The latter is 
the one mentioned in these records. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 8/ 

church was without a pastor. A call was extended to Mr. Solomon Mead 
in March, 1751, without success, and in November of the same year to 
the Rev. Izrahiah Wetmore, with a like result. The interim was im- 
proved by the people, however, in building a new church, which stood 
nearly on the site of the present edifice. 

The first action in this important matter was taken at a Society meet- 
ing held Feb. 9, 1748, when it was put to vote "whether it be necessary 
to build a new meting hous in s'd Parish," and passed in the affirmative ; 
whereupon "Left. Joseph Sanford" was appointed agent for the Society 
to prefer a memorial to the next General Assembly, "to afHx the place 
whereon the meeting house should be built." The successive stages by 
which the building grew to completion are defined in a very interesting 
manner in the records. Dec. 29th, 1799, "It was voted that Deacon 
Burr and others be a committee to see that there is timber got, and saw- 
mill logs for a meeting house in this Parish, s'd timber to be 37 ft. in 
width and 46 ft. in length." Jan. 17th, 1750, the County Court in ses- 
sion at Fairfield, on the memorial of Redding, appointed Thomas Bene- 
dict, Esq., and Capt. Josiah Starr, of Danbury, and Samuel Olmsted, 
Esq., of Ridgefield, a committee to afifix the place whereon the m.eeting- 
house should be built ; to act with these, the Society appointed a com- 
mittee composed of John Read, Stephen Burr, Joseph Sanford and 
Ephraim Jackson. Jan. 29th, 1751, a committee was appointed "to agree 
with some persons to build the new meting hous." It would appear 
that ground had not been broken for it as early as April 25th, 1751, for 
at that date a committee was appointed to meet the County Court's com- 
mittee "to find a place for the meeting house." 

It was probably completed and ready for use early in the summer of 
1752, as on the 22d of June of that year a call was extended to the Rev. 
Mr. Tammage to be their preacher, and the old meeting house was sold 
to Jehu Burr for £34. The manner in which this meeting-house was 
"seated" (which did not occur until 1763) is an interesting commentary 
on the manners and customs of the day, and has the further merit of 
novelty, it being doubtful if another record can be found in New Eng- 
land detailing so minutely the method of assigning pews in the early 
Puritan churches. We copy from the records of a Society meeting held 
at Widow Sanford's, June 23d, 1763 : 

"Put to vote whether the meeting house of s'd society shall be seated 
in ye form following viz. a com'te being appointed to Dignify ye pews 
and other seats in s'd Meeting House the Respective members of s'd 
society shall sit in s'd pews and seats according to their Rank and De- 
gree to be computed by their several lists and age, viz. upon ye two last 
years lists, and to allow three pound per year to be added to a person's 



gg HISTORY OF REDDING. 

List for his advancement in a seat, and all at ye discresion of s'd com'te 
who shall be appointed to Dignify s'd pews and seats, and to inspect the 
Respective lists and ages of s'd members." 

The committee appointed was Joseph Sanford, Ebenezer Couch, and 
Stephen Burr; but Messrs. Sanford and Burr declining to act, Ephraim 
Jackson and Joseph Banks were chosen in their place. This committee 
was unable to settle the question satisfactorily, and a meeting was held 
August nth, 1763, at which the following action was taken: 

"It was put to vote whether the Dignity of ye pews and seats in ye 
meeting house should be in the following manner viz. ye pew adjoin- 
ing ye pulpit stairs first in Dignity: ye pew adjoining ye grait doors, 
west side, second in Dignity : the fore seat third in Dignity, the second 
pew west of ye pulpit, fourth : the second seat, fifth : the second pew 
north from the west door, sixth : the fifth pew north of ye west door 
seventh : the third pew north of the west door, eighth : the second 
pew west of ye grait doors ninth : the first pew south of ye west 
door, tenth : the third seat, eleventh : the second pew south of the west 
door twelfth : the fourth seat, thirteenth : the front seat in ye gallery, 
fourteenth : the fore seat on ye side of the gallery, fifteenth : the pews 
and seats upon ye east end of ye meeting house of Equal Dignity with 
those upon the west side in same manner and order as they are above 
mentioned. Passed in the negative." 

Three months later another meeting was called, and adopted the 
following plan: 

"The respective members of the society shall sit in ye pews and seats 
of the meeting house of s'd Society according to their rank or degree, 
to be computed by their respective lists and ages, viz. upon the lists 
given in upon the years 175 1 and 1761 and 1762, and to allow three 
pounds per year to be added to a person's list for his advancement in a 
seat or pew the Respective lists and ages of s'd members are to be in- 
spected, also to give the committee chosen at this meeting power to seat 
those that are new comers, and have not . . in s'd society, to seat 
them at s'd committee's discresion. 

"Likewise to seat ye Widows in s'd Society at the best of ye Com- 
mittee's judgment, which method of seating s'd meeting house shall 
continue until s'd Society at their meeting shall order otherwise. 

"Also voted that s'd com'te shall seat those women whose husbands 
belong to the Church of England at their discresion." 

The Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett, the second pastor of the church, was 
ordained May 23d, 1753, the next year after the church was built. From 



RESIDENXE OF JOHN B. SANFORD, 
Redding Centre. 

The house now occupied by Jonathan Bartlett Sanford is one of the most 
historic places in the town. In 1753 the Congregational Church in Redding 
called the Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett, of Guilford, to be its second pastor. 

It was the custom of those days to give a settlement to the new pastor, 
and this church gave Mr. Bartlett twenty acres of land. 

In May, 1753, he brought his bride, Eunice Barker Russell, to Redding, 
and immediately began building a house on the settlement land. 

Into this house were built the strong, sturdy principles of the man who for 
more than half a century did grand service in helping to shape the destiny of 
the new country. The proportions of the house were laid out on a gener- 
ous scale, and unlike most country houses of that period, the rooms are large 
and the ceilings high, and only skilled workmen could have wainscotted the 
walls and titted the panels with such care and exactness that they show in a 
very slight degree the wear of a century and a half. 

In the "Keeping Room" is a corner cupboard, with shelves for the 
family china, and on the walls are fine portraits of the benign pastor and his 
wife. A capacious brick oven opens from the side of the great kitchen fire- 
place, and is still in perfect condition for use. 

This house was scarcely finished when the French and Indian war broke 
out and the young wife must have known many anxious hours while tiie pas- 
tor was absent on his ministrations among his scattered parishioners. 

When the spirit of discontent with British rule swept over the colonies, 
it was under this roof that many earnest conferences were held, and when 
the time for action came the sons of the family were freely sent to aid the 
cause of liberty. 

Fearing some sudden attack Mr. Bartlett had stores of ammunition secret- 
ed in the garret to aid in protecting the little hamlet. 

The doors of this hospitable house were always open to the youth of the 
place for whatever instruction the pastor could give them, and among many 
notable men whose early education began here perhaps the most widely known 
was Joel Barlow. 

Rev. Jonathan Bartlett succeeded his father in the ownership of the house. 
He was a man of rare scholarship and a close friend of Dr. Timothy Dwight, 
who was a frequent visitor at the house. 

In 1847, Lemuel Sanford, a nephew of Rev. Jonathan Bartlett, built a house 
adjoining the main house on the east side, and after the death of his uncle, 
came into the possession of this historic place, which has ever since been the 
family home. 

Mr. Sanford filled the offices of Judge of Probate, Town Clerk and Treas- 
urer for a continuous period of thirty-five years, and during that time all the 
records of the town and church were kept in the house without any of the 
modern safeguards of safe or vault. 

The house is remarkable for having remained unchanged in outward 
form or interior arrangement and seems in good condition to stand the storms 
of another centurv. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



89 



the record in his own handwriting, we learn that the ministers who as- 
sisted at his ordination were as follows : 

"The Rev. Mr. White of Danbury made the first prayer. The Rev. 
Mr. Todd of East Guilford preached the sermon. Rev. Mr. Kent made 
the ordaining prayer. Rev. Mr. Mills of Ripston gave the charge, Rev. 
Mr. Judson of Newtown gave the right hand of fellowship, and Rev. 
Mr. Ingersoll of Ridgefield made the concluding prayer." 

Mr. Bartlett came to Redding when a young man fresh from his col- 
legiate studies, and continued pastor of the church over which he was 
ordained for fifty-seven years — the longest pastorate, it is said, known 
to the New England churches. He is described as a gentleman of the 
old school, kind and considerate, of an equable temper, a just man, a 
fine scholar, and an eloquent preacher. During his term of service the 
crude settlement in the wilderness assumed "the dignity of a town. The 
church grew from infancy to manhood and the country passed from the 
position of dependent colonies to that of free and sovereign states. In 
the War of Independence Mr. Bartlett's sympathies were entirely with 
the patriot cause; two of his sons entered the army, munitions of war 
were stored in his house, and he himself frequently officiated as chaplain 
■during the encampment of Putnam's division in the town in the winter 
of 1779. Like many of the New England clergymen of that day, he 
was the teacher of such youths in his charge as might desire a liberal 
education, and among the many whom he thus fitted for usefulness was 
the celebrated poet and statesman, Joel Barlow. Mr. Bartlett died Jan. 
II, 1810, and was buried in the old cemetery west of the church. The 
simple inscription upon his tombstone reads as follows : 

The Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett. 
Died, January 11, 18 10, aged 83 years. 

"I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were 
dead, yet shall he live." — Jesus Christ. 

During the entire period of Mr. Bartlett's ministry we have in thf 
church records but one entry of importance, and that is of interest as 
marking the legal status of the Episcopal Society in the town. This 

entry is as follows : 

"To Seth S. Smith of Redding, in Fairfield Co. Greeting, Whereas 
by law the Episcopal Church in said Redding is become a distinct society 
whereby the members of the Presbyterian church in said Redding have 
"become the first society in said town. These are therefore by authority 
of the State of Connecticut to command you to warn and give notice to 
all the members of said first society, and all others who by law are ob- 
liged to contribute toward the support, and the worship, and the ministry 



90 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



with the same, to meet at the meeting house in said Redding on Monday 
the 20th of December at 12 in order to choose a moderator and necessary- 
officers. 

"Redding, December 14, 1785." 

The Rev. Jonathan Bartlett, third minister of the church, was ordain- 
ed as colleague with his father, Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett, in 1796. The 
first of the church records in his handwriting is as follows : 

"Feb. 3, 1796. I was separated to the work of the ministry and or- 
dained as colleague with my father Nathaniel Bartlett over the Congre- 
gational church in Redding in Gospel order and form. The ministers 
who performed the work were as follows viz. the Rev. Israhiel Wetmore 
chosen Moderator, Robert Ross made the ordaining prayer, Elisha Rex- 
ford made the introductory prayer, David Ely preached the sermon. 
Imposition of hands by N. Bartlett, R. Ross and Rexford. John Ely 
gave the right hand of fellowship, Samuel W. Stebbins made the con- 
cluding prayer." 

Of the life and ministry of this most excellent man, one who knew 
him intimately, the Rev. Thomas F. Davies, thus wrote: 

"In February, 1796, Mr. Bartlett was ordained colleague with his 
father, and after a faithful ministry of thirteen years, greatly esteemed 
and beloved by his people, was dismissed on account of ill-health, and 
by his own request. His heart was gladdened near the close of his 
pastoral life by a powerful and general revival of religion among the 
people of his charge. After his dismission, and when his health had been 
in a degree restored, he preached from time to time to destitute congre- 
gations in the vicinity, and at different periods, as occasion required, to 
the church of which he had been pastor, with great acceptation and use- 
fulness. As a preacher he was eminently distinguished, for he was a 
man 'mighty in the Scriptures.' Large portions of the Word of God, en- 
tire epistles even, dwelling in his memory, and when an impaired vision 
rendered the perusal of a book difficult or painful, he reviewed in his 
own mind, and often rehearsed to others, portions of the Scriptures with 
comments which rendered his society delightful and instructive. He 
was a man of native eloquence, and great skill in the examination and 
exhibition of the subject which came before him. He was a scribe, 'well 
instructed in the things of the kingdom, a workman that needed not to 
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.' While aiding other 
societies, he was eminently a benefactor to the church and society of 
which he had been a pastor, for in addition to the ministerial services 
gratuitously rendered, he gave in money in his various benefactions 
more to the society than the entire amount received from it during the 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 9 1 

whole period of his ministry, and has also left it a legacy of three thou- 
said dollars. Useful, honored, and beloved he lived in his native town, 
inhabiting for nearly a century the same residence, for he was born in 
the house in which he died. With a calm and humble trust in God, in 
the entire possession of his mental powers, and with little apparent suf- 
fering, he fell asleep in Jesus." 

Rev. Daniel Crocker, of Bedford, N. Y., was called in August, 1809. 
as colleague with Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett. He was a good man and a 
successful pastor, and served the church fifteen years, being dismissed in 
1824. The Rev. Charles DeWitt Tappen was called, but not settled. 
The next pastor chosen was Mr. William C. Kniffen in 1825. He was 
dismissed in 1828. The Rev. Burr Baldwin was next called, but not 
settled. The next pastor was the Rev. William L. Strong, formerly pas- 
tor at Somers, Tolland Co., Conn. He was installed June 23d, 1830, 
and dismissed Feb. 26th, i'-835. In September, 1835, following Mr. 
Strong's dismissal, a subscription was commenced for the erection of the 
present church edifice, which was built in 1836. The expense was not 
to exceed $2,500 with the old meeting-house. In December of the same 
year a unanimous call was extended to the Rev. David C. Comstock, but 
was not accepted at that time. In IMarch, 1837, Rev. Daniel E. Manton 
was called, but not settled. In June of the same year the Rev. Jeremiah 
Miller was called, and was installed July 12th, 1837. Mr. Miller was 
dismissed in 1839. In the following year, 1840, Mr. David C. Com- 
stock was ordained and installed pastor of the church. He was dis- 
missed in 1845. After him Daniel D. Frost, after preaching as stated 
supply for eighteen months, was ordained December 30th, 1845. He 
continued pastor ten years, being dismissed October 13th, 1856. In 1857 
the pulpit was supplied by the Rev. Mr. Root. In 1858 the Rev. Enoch 
S. Huntington supplied the pulpit one year. He presented the com- 
munion service to the church, for which he received its thanks. In 1859 
the church was remodelled and painted, receiving the beautiful fresco 
which long adorned it. In i860 Rev. W. D. Herrick became pastor, and 
so continued until 1864. After him Rev. E. B. Huntington, and also 
Rev. Mr. Barnum, preached for a short time. Rev. S. F. Farmer sup- 
plied in 1865. Rev. K. B. Glidden was installed September 12th, 1866; 
resigned December, 1868. In 1869 the Rev. Charles Chamberlain be- 
came pastor. He resigned in September, 1871. 

Rev. Sidney G. Law. to whom I am indebted for the above summary 
of the later history of the church, became acting pastor June ist, 1872, 
and after a prosperous ministry of six years resigned in 1878. 

The Rev. William J. Jennings was installed Dec. 17th, 1879, and con- 
tinued pastor until March, 1892, when he resigned because of failing 
strength, by this act closing his active ministry. He spent his closing 



92 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



years in his native town of Westport, and when he died was brought 
back to Redding for burial by the side of his wife and son in the ceme- 
tery by the parsonage. 

In September, 1892, the Rev. Clare L. Luther was invited to become 
acting pastor of the church and was ordained here in October, 1892. 
During his pastorate the church edifice was remodeled and a large room 
for social and religious purposes added to the rear of the church. He 
also undertook the arduous work of transcribing and indexing the 
church records. A new manual of the church was also published during 
his pastorate. He resigned in May, 1898, and was succeeded by the 
Rev. Edward R. Evans, who was ordained pastor in May, 1899, and con- 
tinued to serve until October, 1903. In August, 1904, the Rev. Louis 
A. Godard became acting pastor. In June, 1906, Mr. Godard severed 
his connection with the church, and his successor has not yet been called. 

Some statistics of this ancient church ready gathered to my hand 
will prove interesting and valuable. The complete list of those who 
served it as pastors, with the date of their ordination and dismissal, is 
as follows : 

MINISTERS. SETTLED. DISMISSED. DIED. 

Nathaniel Hunn Mar. 21, 1733 1749 

Nathaniel Bartlett May 23, 1753 Jan. 11, 1810 

Jonathan Bartlett Feb. 3, 1796 June 7, 1809 Mar. 22, 1858 

Daniel Crocker Oct. a, 1809 Oct 24, 1824 

Wilham C. Kniffen June 8, 1825 Dec. 17, 1828 

William L. Strong June 23, 1830 Feb. 26, 1835 

Jeremiah Miller July 12, 1837 July 23, 1839 

David C. Comstock Mar. 4, 1840 April 8, 1845 

Daniel D. Frost Dec. 30, 1846 Oct. 15, 1856 

Enoch S. Huntington 1858 1859 

W. D. Herrick i860 1S64 

K B. Glidden Sept. 12, 1866 Dec, 1868 

Charles Chamberlain i86g Sept., 1871 

Sidney G. Law June I, 1872 June I, 1878 

DE.ACONS. APPOINTED. DEACONS. APPOINTED. 

Stephen Burr 1733 Lemuel Sanford 1808 

Theophilus Hull 1733 Aaron Read 1808 

Lemuel Sanford 1740 Joel Foster 1820 

Daniel Mallory 1740 • Lemuel Hawley 1832 

Joseph Banks 1776 Samuel Read 1832 

Simon Couch 1776 Charles D. Smith 1854 

Lemuel Sanford 1785 Rufus Meade 1854 

Stephen Betts 1785 Thaddeus M. Abbott 1854 

Deacons serving since 1854 have been, John H. Lee, Henry S. Os- 
born, Ebenezer Hill, and Jonathan B. Sanford. 

YEAR. CONVERSIONS. YEAR. CONVERSIONS. 

^8o8-9 75 1838 30 

1823 40 1852 24 

1829 8 1855 12 

183I 20 



N 



I 




HISTORY OF REDDING. g^ 

On Wednesday, Sept. 5, 1883, with appropriate ceremonies, the 
church celebrated the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its birth. 



CHAPTER X. 

Christ Church, 1722-1906. 

By Rev. Alanson Welton. 

The present town of Redding is one of the few places in the old 
Colony of Connecticut where the Episcopal ministry is entitled to the 
distinction of having been first on the ground, laying foundations, and 
not building upon those already laid. The Church of England was not 
planted in New England without strenuous and bitter opposition from 
the Puritans, who were first in the field. By old English law, indeed, 
that church was established in all the plantations ; yet it is manifest from 
the records of the colonial legislation of the charter government of Con- 
necticut, that previous to 1727, the church of which the king was a 
member was not recognized as having a right to exist. Congregation- 
alism was the established religion, "in opposition to which there could 
be no ministry or church administration entertained or attended by the 
inhabitants of any town or plantation, upon penalty of fifty pounds for 
every breach of this act;" and every person in the colony was obliged 
to pay taxes for the support of this establishment. 

In this uncongenial soil the Anglican Church of Connecticut was 
planted — strange to say, not by foreign-born missionaries, but by sece- 
ders from the ministry of the Congregationalists. The pioneers in this 
movement were Timothy Cutler, Rector of Yale College ; Daniel Brown, 
tutor ; James Wetmore, of North Haven ; and Samuel Johnson, of West 
Haven, a former tutor in the college. These gentlemen, after a pro- 
fessedly careful and prayerful examination of the subject of church 
order, discipline, and worship, which' resulted in a conviction that the 
English Church followed most closely the teaching of the Scriptures and 
the practice of the church of the first ages, sent to the trustees of the col- 
lege a formal statement of their views, and declared for Episcopacy — to 
the no small surprise and consternation of their colleagues in the col- 
lege and church. The four went to England for Episcopal ordination, 
where Brown died. The three survivors returned in 1722, as mission- 
aries of the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts," Johnson only being sent to Connecticut. The ante-Revolution- 



q, HISTORY OF REDDING. 

ary history of the church at Redding Ridge is mostly to be found in the 
archives of this Society, as pubUshed in the "Documentary History of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church in Connecticut," and the Rev. Dr. 
Beardsley's "History of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut" — from 
which sources, mainly, this sketch has been compiled. 

A letter was addressed to the secretary of the S. P. G., dated October 
19th, 1722, signed by John Glover and twelve other heads of families in 
Newtown, Thomas Wheeler, of Woodbury, and Tyloses Knapp, of Chest- 
nut Ridge, thanking the Society for the services of the Rev. George 
Pigot, missionary at Stratford, and earnestly soliciting the appointment 
of a missionary for themselves at Newtown. 

The next year, 1723, Mr. Pigot was transferred to Newport, R. I,, 
and the Rev. Samuel Johnson, his successor at Stratford, "accepted all 
his missionary duties in Connecticut." 

In 1727, the Rev. Henry Caner [pronounce Caiiner] was sent to Fair- 
field, of which town Chestnut Ridge was a part. After having named in 
his report the several villages or hamlets in the vicinity of his station, he 
says : "Besides these, there is a village northward from Fairfield about 
eighteen miles, containing near twenty families, where there is no min- 
ister at all, of any denomination whatsoever ; the name of it is Chestnut 
Ridge, and where I usually preach or lecture once in three weeks." In 
1728 he says there are four villages "about Fairfield, — Green Farms, 
Greenfield, Poquannuck and Chestnut Ridge, three of them about four 
miles distant, the last about sixteen." The same year, the name of Moses 
Knapp appears as a vestryman of the church at Fairfield. 

In 1729, "Moses Knap, Nathan Lion, and Daniel Crofoot" objected, 
in a meeting of the [Presbyterian] "Society of Redding" "against" the 
"hiering" any other than a minister of the Church of England. These 
three names appear again in the list of Mr. Beach's parishioners in 1738. 
The Rev. Dr. Burhams [Churchman's Magazine, 1823] says: "The first 
Churchman in Reading was a Mr. Richard Lyon, from Ireland, who died 
as early as 1735." He also says on the authority of "an aged member 
of the Church in Reading," that "Messrs. [Richard?] Lyon, [Stephen] 
Morehouse, [Moses] Knapp, [Joshua] Hall, [William] Hill, [Daniel] 
Crofoot, and [Lieut. Samuel] Fairchild, appear to have composed the 
first Church in Reading." Nathan Lyon died in 1757, in the fifty-fourth 
year of his age. Mr. Caner reported in 1728 seven families at Chestnut 
Ridge; the number reminding us of the "House of Wisdom" with its 
"Seven Pillars," as the first Puritan organization at New Haven was 
named. 

Mr. Caner was succeeded at Chestnut Ridge, in 1732, by the Rev. 
John Beach, a pupil of Johnson in Yale College, and afterward Presby- 
terian minister at Newtown for several years. As Mr. Beach was a 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



95 



resident of East Redding for about twenty years, and pastor of this 
church full half a century, his history is substantially that of the parish, 
or mission, over which he presided. His pastorate was the longest of 
all the ante-Revolutionary clergy. He was born in Stratford, October 
6th, 1700; graduated from Yale at the age of twenty-one, and licensed 
to preach soon afterwards. He is said to have been selected for the 
Presbyterian pastorate at Newtown as a "popular and insinuating young 
man," well fitted to check the growth of Episcopacy, which was there 
thriving under the ministry of Caner and Johnson. Many Churchmen 
must have "joined in settling him with Presbyterian ordination," for in 
1722 they claimed to be a majority of the population, whereas, for some- 
time after his "settlement," Mr. Johnson ministered to only about five 
families. "From these visits . . . frequent and earnest discus- 
sions resulted between the two teachers, the influence of which was soon 
evident to Mr. Beach's congregation. After two or three years of 
patient study and meditation he alarmed his congregation by his frequent 
use of the Lord's prayer; and still more by reading whole chapters from 
the Word of God. Next he ventured to condemn a custom, common in 
their meetings, of rising and bowing to the minister, as he came in 
among them, and instead of which be begged them to kneel down and 
worship God. At length [in January, 1731], "after he had been a 
preacher more than eight years, he told them from the pulpit that, 
^ From a serious and prayerful examination of the Scriptures, and of the 
records of the early ages of the Church, and from the universal ac- 
knowledgment of Episcopal govei'nment for fifteen hundred years, com- 
pared with the recent establishment of Presbyterian and Congregational 
discipline,' he was fully persuaded of the invalidity of his ordination, and 
of the unscriptural method of organizing and governing congregations 
as by them practised. He therefore, ' In the face of Almighty God,' had 
made up his mind to 'conform to the Church of England, as being Apos- 
tolical in her ministry and discipline, orthodox in her doctrine, and primi- 
tive in her worship.' He aflfectionately exhorted them to weigh the sub- 
ject well ; engaged to provide for the due administration of the sacra- 
ments while absent from them, and spoke of his intended return from 
England in holy orders. So greatly was he beloved, that a large propor- 
tion of his people seemed ready to acquiesce in his determination." But 
the others, in evident alarm and consternation at this "threatened defec- 
tion from their ranks," held a town meeting "to consult" as to "what 
was possible to be done with the Rev. Mr. John Beach, under present 
difficulties"; "voted to have a [day of] solemn fasting and prayer; . 
. to call in the Ecclesiastical Council of Fairfield to direct and do 
what they shall think proper, under the . . . difficult circumstan- 
ces respecting the Rev. Mr. Beach, and the inhabitants of the town of 



96 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Newtown — also that the first Wednesday of February [1732] be ap- 
pointed for the fast." 

The council met, and in spite of Mr. Beach's remonstrances proceed- 
ed to depose him from the ministry. "From this resulted a printed dis- 
cussion" between him and his deposers, which ultimately helped rather 
than hindered the Church of England. 

Mr. Beach returned from England in Episcopal orders, and took 
charge of the Newtown and Redding mission in the autumn of 1732. 
From this period his history and that of his mission may be more ac- 
curately told in the language of his own letters to the Secretary of the 
S. P. G. 

" Newtown in Connecticut^ August 7th, 1735. 

"Reverend Sir, I think it my duty to acquaint the venerable So- 
ciety with the present state of my parish, although the alteration since 
my last has not been very considerable. I have baptized twenty-nine 
children and admitted twenty-five persons more to the communion, so 
that the number . . . now at Newtown, Reading, and the places 
adjacent, is ninety-five. I preach frequently and administer the Sacra- 
ment at Ridgefield . . . about eighteen miles distant 
where there are about fourteen or eighteen families of very serious and 
religious people who have a just esteem of the Church of England, and 
are very desirous to have the opportunity of worshipping God in that 
way. I have constantly preached, one Sunday at Newtown ; and the 
other at Reading; and after I have preached at Reading in the day-time, 
I . . . preach at Newtown in the evening; and although I have 
not that success I could wish for, yet I do, and hope I always shall, faith- 
fully endeavour (as far as my poor ability will allow), to promote that 
good work, that the venerable Society sent and maintained for me. I 
am, Rev. Sir, 

"Your most humble servant, 

"John Beach." 

As a specimen of his manner of defending himself against personal 
attacks we have the following from a controversial pamphlet, in reply 
to John Dickinson, of New Jersey, in 1736: 

"1 have evened the scale of my judgment as much as possibly I 
could, and to the best of my knowledge, I have not allowed one grain of 
worldly motive on either side. I have supposed myself on the brink 
of eternity, just going into the other world, to give up my account to 
my great Judge; and must I be branded for an antichrist or heretic, or 
apostate, because my judgement determines that the Church of England 
is most agreeable to the Word of God? I can speak in the presence of 
God, who knows my heart better than you do, that I would willingly turn 



I 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 97 

Dissenter again, if you, or any man living will show me reason for it. 
But it must be reason (whereby I exclude not the Word of God, which 
is the highest reason), and not sophistry and calumny, as you have 
hitherto used, and will convince a lover of truth and right." 

In 1739 he says: "I have one hundred and twenty-three communi- 
cants, but they live so far distant from each other, that commonly I can 
administer to no more than about fifty at once, which occasions my ad- 
ministering it the more frequently; and, though I meet with many dis- 
couragements, yet I have this satisfaction, that all my communicants 
(one or two excepted) do adorn their profession by a sober, righteous 
and godly life." In 1743, some three years after Whitefield began his 
famous "revival of Puritanism," Mr. Beach says : "My people are not 
at all shaken, but rather confirmed in their principles by the spirit of en- 
thusiasm that rages among the Independents roundabout us ; and many 
of the Dissenters, observing how steadfast our people are 
while those of their own denomination are easily carried away with every 
kind of doctrine, have conceived a much better opinion of our Church- 
than they formerly had, and a considerable number in this colony have 
lately conformed, and several Churches are now building where they 
have no minister. . . . Were there in this country but one of the 
Episcopal order, to whom young men might apply for ordination, with- 
out the expense and danger of a voyage to England, many of our towns 
might be supplied which must now remain destitute." (This letter is 
dated at "Reading, in New England," as all his published reports are, 
between 1740 and 1760.) "My people are poor, (he continues) and 
have but few negro slaves, but all they have, I have, after instruction, 
baptized, and some of them are communicants." In October of the same 
year he says : "I beg the venerable Society's direction in an afifair I 
am just now perplexed with. There are about twenty families 
at New-Milford and New-Fairfield, which are about fifteen miles hence. 
I preach to them several times a year, but seldom on the Lord's day. 
They frequently come to Church at Newtown ; but by reason of the dis- 
tance, they can't attend constantly, and their families very seldom, and, 
when they can't come to Church, they meet together in their own town, 
and one of their number reads some part of the common prayer and a 
sermon. They are now building a Church. . , . But the Inde- 
pendents, to suppress the design in its infancy, . , . have lately 
prosecuted and fined them for their meeting to worship God according 
to the common prayer. . . . The case of these poor people is very 
hard ; if, on the Lord's day, they continue at home, they must be punish- 
ed; if they meet to worship God according to the Church of England 
in the best manner they can, the mulct is much greater; and if they go 



gy HISTORY OF REDDING. 

lo the Independent meeting . . . they must endure the mortifica- 
tion of hearing the Church vilified." 

After the death of the Rev. Joshua Honeyman missionary at New- 
port, R. I., in 1750, the church of which he had the care, petitioned the 
Society that Mr. Beach might be sent to them, as their minister. The 
petition was granted, but Mr. Beach felt constrained, on account of 
feeble health to decline the appointment; fearing,-. as he said, that "the 
people might complain that a wornout man was iiriposed upon them." 

The first church on Redding Ridge, which vvas built in 1733, and 
was quite small, was in 1750 replaced by another on the same site, fifty 
feet long and thirty-six wide, surmounted by a turret, which, in 1797, 
was replaced by a steeple in which was placed the first bell. This church, 
according to the style of the period, was furnished with square, high- 
backed pews, with seats on their four sides ; so that some of their occu- 
pants had to sit with their backs to the minister. And though others 
doubtless besides Bishop Jarvis "could see no necessary connection be- 
tween piety and freezing," there was no heating apparatus in the churches 
until considerably past the beginning of the present century. "Trinity 
Church, New Haven, had no means of being warmed until 1822, and 
none of the rural churches were supplied with stoves until a much later 
period." Many persons in the rural districts were in the habit of walk- 
ing several miles, barefooted, to church in summer, and probably did 
not feel the lack of shoes a great privation. So common was it for men 
to go to church without their coats, that the first time Bishop Seabury 
preached in New Haven, a dissenting hearer reported that "he preached 
in his shirt-sleeves." Often the family was mounted, the parents with 
a child in arms to be christened, upon one horse, and the older children 
upon another. Sometimes the whole family were clustered together up- 
on the ox-cart or sled, and thus they went up to the house of God. 

In 1759, three years after the breaking out of the "Old French War," 
Mr. Beach, writing from "Reading, Connecticut, in N. England," says: 
■"My parish is in a flourishing condition, in all respects, excepting that 
we have lost some of our young men in the army ; more, indeed by sick- 
ness than by the sword, for this countrymen do not bear a campaign so 
well as Europeans." 

Eh'. Johnson's playful remark to his son that "Mr. Beach had al- 
ways these seeming inconsistencies, to be always dying, and yet relish- 
ing mundane things," would seem to indicate that his friend was not 
really so near death's door as he often imagined himself ; for example, in 
1761, when he says: "My painful and weak state of body admonishes 
me that, although this may not be the last time of my writing, yet the 
last cannot be far off" ; and he had supposed himself a "worn out man" 
several years before. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 99 

Writing from "New-Town, Oct. 3, 1764," he reports: "My con- 
gregation at Reading has increased very Httle for some years past, by 
reason that many who were wont to attend there, though Hving at a 
distance of 6, 8, or 10 miles, have lately built [eachj a small church near 
them, where they can more conveniently meet; viz., at Danbury, Ridg- 
bury, North Fairfield, and North Stratford; which has very much re- 
tarded the growth of the congregation at Reading: which . 
now consists of about 300 hearers at one time." Under date of April, 
1765, he says: "I am now engaged in a controversy with some of the 
Independent Ministers about those absurd doctrines, the sum of which 
is contained in a thesis published by New Haven College last Septem- 
ber. . . . They expressly deny that there is any law of Grace 
which promises eternal life upon the condition of faith, repentance and 
sincere obedience; and assert justification only by the law of innocence 
and sinless obedience. Though my health is small, and my abilities less, 
I make it a rule never to enter into any dispute with them unless they 
begin, yet now they have made the assault, and advocate such monstrous 
errors as do subvert the Gospel, I think myself obliged by my ordination 
vow, to guard the people as well as I can against such strange doc- 
trines." 

Again he writes in October of the same year, after the publication 
of that precursor of Revolution, the memorable "Stamp Act," of 1765 : 
"My parishes continue much in the same condition as in my last. I have 
of late, taken pains to warn my people against having any concern with 
seditious tumults with relation to the stamp duty enjoined upon us by 
the Legislature at home: and I can with truth and pleasure say, that I 
cannot discover the least inclination towards rebellious conduct in any 
of the Church people." A year later he says : "For some time past, I 
have not been without fear of being abused by a lawless set of men who 
style themselves the Sons of Liberty, for no other reason than that of en- 
deavoring to cherish in my people a quiet submission to the civil govern- 
ment. . . . It is very remarkable, that in part of this Colony, in 
which many missions and Church people abound, there the people are 
vastly more peaceable and ready to render obedience to the Government 
of England; but where there is no mission and few or no Church peo- 
ple, they are continually caballing, and will spill the last drop of blood, 
rather than submit to the late Act of Parliament." In 1767, he says: 
"It is some satisfaction to me to observe, that in this town [Newtown], 
of late, in our elections, the Church people make the major vote, which 
is the first instance of this kind in this Colony, if not in all New Eng- 
land." Again in 1769: "There are in these two parishes about 2400 
souls, of whom, a little more than half profess the Church of England. 
Here are about fifty negroes, most of whom after proper instruction 



lOO 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



have been baptized. . . . Here are no heathens or infidels. I com- 
monly baptize about lOO children in one year, among them some black 
children. My actual communicants are 312. Here are no Papists or 
Deists." In 1771 he writes: "In Reading, my hearers at once are 
about 300. There is a meeting of Presbyterians about two and a half 
miles from our Church, in which the congregation is not so large as 
ours. In a manner, all . . . who live near the Church join with 
us; scarce any go by the Church to meeting." "The Church, (he says 
in 1774) stands not in the centre of the town, but on one side, to accom- 
modate the Church people, who live near, though out of the bounds of 
Reading." 

One of the most interesting of his reports is that of May 5th, 1772: 

"It is now forty years since I have had the advantage of being the 
venerable Society's Missionary in this place. . . . Every Sunday I 
have performed divine service, and preached twice, at New Town and 
Reading alternately; and in these forty years I have lost only two Sun- 
days, through sickness ; although in all that time I have been afflicted 
with a constant cholic which has not allowed me one day's ease, or free- 
dom from pain. The distance between the Church ... is be- 
tween eight and nine miles, and no very good road ; yet I have never 
failed ... to attend at each place according to custom, through 
the badness of the weather, but have rode it in the severest rains and 
snow storms, even when there has been no track, and my horse near 
sinking down in the snow-banks ; which has had this good effect on my 
parishioners, that they are ashamed to stay from Church on account of 
bad weather. ... I have performed divine service in many towns 
where the Common Prayer had never been heard, nor the Holy Scrip- 
tures read in public, and where now are flourishing congregations of the 
Church of England ; and in some places where there never had been any 
public worship at all, nor sermon preached by any teacher, of any de- 
nomination. 

"In my travelling to preach the Gospel, once was my life remarkably 
preserved, in passing a deep and rapid river. The retrospect of my 
fatigues, lying on straw, &c, gives me pleasure; while I flatter myself 
that my labor has not been quite in vain; for the Church of England 
people are increased more than 20 to i, and what is infinitely more pleas- 
ing, many of them are remarkable for piety and virtue; and the Inde- 
pendents here are more knowing in matters of religion, than they who 
live at a distance from the Church. We live in harmony and peace with 
each other, and the rising generation of Independents seem to be en- 
tirely free from every pique and prejudice against the Church." In a 
previous report, he said : "They who set up the worship of God accord- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. lOl 

ing to our Liturgy, at Lanesboro', at Nobletown and Arlington, proceed 
chiefly from my parishes. But notwithstanding these frequent emi- 
grations, my congregations increase." 

His last report, which was made about six months before his death, 
is dated October 31st, 1781, and is as follows: 

"It is a long time since I have done my duty in writing to the vener- 
able Society, not owing to my carelessness, but to the impossibility of 
conveyance from here. And now I do it sparingly. A narrative of my 
troubles I dare not now give. My two congregations are growing : that 
at Reading being commonly about 300 and at New Town about 600. 
I baptized about 130 children in one year, and lately 2 adults. New 
Town and the Church of England part of Reading are, I believe, the 
only parts of New England that have refused to comply with the doings 
of the Congress, and for that reason have been the butt of general 
hatred. But God has preserved us from entire destruction. 

"I am now in the 826. year of my age ; yet do constantly, alternately, 
perform and preach at New Town and Reading. I have been 60 years 
a public preacher, and, after conviction, in the Church of England 50 
years ; but had I been sensible of my inefficiency, I should not have un- 
dertaken it. But now I rejoice in that I think I have done more good 
towards men's eternal happiness, than I should have done in any other 
calling. 

"I do most heartily thank the venerable Society for their liberal sup- 
port, and beg that they will accept of this, which is, I believe, my last 
bill, viz: £325, which, according to former custom, is due. [Probably 
at £50 per annum for six years and a half, or from 1775.] At this age 
I cannot well hope for it, but I pray God I may have an opportunity to 
explain myself with safety; but must conclude now with Job's expres- 
sion : 'Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends !' " 

Tradition has preserved a few incidents in his experience during the 
War of Independence: 

"In the autumn of 1775, several officers of the militia, having collect- 
ed a number of soldiers and volunteers from the different towns in West- 
ern Connecticut, undertook to subdue the tories. They went first to 
Newtown, where they put Mr. Beach, the Selectmen, and other prin- 
cipal inhabitants, under strict guard, and urged them to sign the Articles 
of Association, prescribed by the Congress at Philadelphia. When they 
could prevail upon them neither by persuasion nor by threats, they ac- 
cepted a bond from them, with a large pecuniary penalty, not to take up 
arms against the Colonies, and not to discourage enlistments into the 
American forces." 



J02 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Shortly after the declaration of Independence (i. e. July 23d, 1776) 
the Episcopal clergy of the colony fearing to continue the use of the 
Liturgy as it then stood — praying for the king and royal family — and 
conscientiously scrupulous about violating their oaths and subscriptions, 
resolved to suspend the public exercise of their ministry. "All the 
churches were thus for a time closed, except those under the care of Mr. 
Beach. . . . He continued to officiate as usual" (as himself testi- 
fies) during the war. "Though gentle as a lamb in the intercourse of 
private life, he was bold as a lion in the discharge of public duty ; and, 
when warned of personal violence if he persisted, he declared that he 
would do his duty, .preach, and pray for the King till the rebels cut out 
his tongue." 

Whether the following were separate incidents, or are but different 
versions of one and the same, is uncertain: It is related that a squad 
of soldiers marched into his church in Newtown, and threatened to shoot 
him if he prayed for the king ; but when, regardless of their threats, he 
went on, without so much as a tremor in his voice, to offer the forbidden 
supplications, they were so struck with admiration for his courage, that 
they stacked their arms and remained to listen to the sermon. 

A band of soldiers entered his church during service, seized him, and 
declared that they would kill him. He entreated that, if his blood must 
be shed, it might not be in the house of God. Thereupon they took him 
into the street, where an axe and block were soon prepared. "Now, you 
old sinner (said one), say your last prayer." He knelt down and pray- 
ed : "God bless King George, and forgive all his enemies and mine, for 
Christ's sake." One of the mob then pleaded to "let the old fellow go, 
and take some younger man instead." 

The following is familiar to the people of Redding Ridge parish. 
The old church of 1750 had a single door in the centre, and the pulpit 
and chancel were at the west end, opposite the door. A squad of sol- 
diers, seven in number (hired, it is said, by 'Squire Betts with a gallon 
of French brandy to shoot Mr. Beach), gathered before the open door 
of the church, and from one of them a bullet was fired which lodged in 
one of the ribs of the sounding-board, a foot or more above the head of 
the venerable preacher. As the congregation sprang to their feet in un- 
feigned consternation to rush from the church, he quieted them by say- 
ing: "Don't be alarmed, brethren. Fear not them that kill the body, 
but are not able to kill the soul ; but rather fear him which is able to 
destroy both soul and body in hell ;" and then proceeded with his dis- 
course as if nothing had happened. 

The "History of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut" informs us 
that "the Redding Association of Loyalists was a strong body, whose 
secret influence was felt throughout the mission of the venerable pastor ;"' 



HISTORY OF REDDING. IO3 

but how or in what way that influence was exerted, does not appear. 
The "Sons of Liberty" have been already mentioned in Mr. Beach's re- 
ports. 

After the death of Mr. Beach in 1782, the Revs. Richard Samuel 
Clarke and Andrew Fowler officiated here alternately for a short time. 
Clarke emigrated to Nova Scotia with others of the missionaries, and 
many of the members of their flocks, in 1784 or 1785. He returned on 
a visit in October, 1786. The discontinuance of the stipends of the mis- 
sionaries by the S. P. G., whose charter restricted its benefactions to 
the British provinces and plantations, was a severe blow to the Episcopal 
churches, which had been already greatly weakened by the efifects of the 
War of the Revolution. Mr. Beach's congregation were exceptions to 
the general rule, in that they increased while others diminished in fium- 
bers ; but whether few or many of the Redding Churchmen formed a 
part of the thirty thousand Loyalists who, Hawkins says, emigrated to 
the British provinces from New England and New York, it is impossible 
to ascertain. It is not probable, however, that there were half that 
number of Churchmen in all New England at the close of the war. 

The next name on the list of ministers of this parish is that of Tru- 
man Marsh in 1785, who "visited the Parish every third Sunday"; but, 
as he was not ordained till 1790, he must have been only a licensed lay- 
reader, though it is not improbable that he preached — as some of that 
class did, in those days when there was a dearth of ordained ministers. 
In 1794, the Rev. David Perry, M. D., minister of the parishes of Red- 
ding, Ridgefield, and Danbury, in consequence of some reports to his 
disadvantage as a cleryman, and of some errors in regard to baptism, 
was suspended from the ministry, and the next year, at his own request, 
deposed. He returned to the practice of medicine in Ridgefield. 

The revenues of the Church were gathered after the Revolution 
much as they were before. "The Episcopal parishes were taxed to 
build churches and to sustain religious services, and the Diocesan Con- 
vention assessed the parishes to provide for the Bishop's Fund. Each 
parish was required to make an annual return of what was called the 
'Grand Levy' — that is, its taxable list according to its last enrolment — 
and upon this return rested the right of a lay delegate to his seat in the 
convention. The resolution which fixed this rule was adopted in 1803. 
The first published Grand Levy appeared in the Journal of 1806; and 
from that time onward for fifteen years the roll of the lay delegates was 
accompanied by the taxable list of the several parishes which they repre- 
sented. If the list of any parish exceeded ten thousand dollars, such 
parish was entitled to . . . two delegates." The Grand Levy of 
the Redding Parish in 1806 was $12,960. 

"It is interesting to note the changes since that period in the relative 



I04 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



wealth of the Church in Connecticut. In those early days, as reported, 
Litchfield was stronger than Waterbury or Hartford, Woodbridge was 
stronger than Meriden, Huntington than Derby, Redding than Bridge- 
port, and Newtown than New Haven." 

The longest pastorate since Mr. Beach was that of his great-grand- 
son, the Rev. Lemuel B. Hull, who resigned his charge in 1836, after 
twelve years' service. "In 1815, a fund of a little more than $3,000 was 
raised." 

On the second Tuesday in October, 1833 — the year in which the 
present church edifice was built — the Annual Convention of the Diocese 
at Norwich failed to organize for want of two more lay delegates to form 
a quorum. "On the morning of that day, at three o'clock, the steam- 
boat New England, on her passage from New York to Hartford, having 
on board seventy-one persons, burst both her boilers near Essex, and 
eight persons were immediately killed and thirteen seriously injured. 
Among those who were fatally injured were Mr. John M. Heron and 
Dr. Samuel M. Whiting, lay delegates from Christ Church, Redding; 
and they were within a mile of their landing-place at the time of the 
accident." 

In the spring of that year several members of the parish withdrew by 
certificate ; among these was John Meeker, clerk. 

At a parish meeting, October 25th, 1834, the vestry were instructed 
"to take proper [legal] steps to procure the Records of the Parish from 
the hands of the late Clerk, without delay." At another meeting in De- 
cember following, the agents of the parish (James San ford, Jr., and 
Charles Beach) were authorized to "prosecute to final judgment such 
suits as they should deem necessary for the recovery of the books, 
records, funds or other property of the Society, before any Court proper 
to try the same." 

In October, 1835, fifty dollars were appropriated from the parish 
treasury "to enable the agents to carry on the suit commenced against 
the heirs of John Meeker, deceased." Some money was thus recovered, 
but the records have never yet been found. 

In 1847 the old parish debt of $870 (incurred in the building of the 
church in 1833) was paid by subscription. 

In 1850 the parish fund, about $2,700, which before had been held 
as a loan by members of the parish, was by a considerable efifort, and 
against the desire and judgment of the minority, collected and invested 
in the stock of the Fairfield County Bank. The same year the church 
edifice was altered and repaired, at an expense of $380.2^. "On Advent 
Sunday" of this year, "the last Sunday of my ministry" (says the Rev. 
Joseph P. Taylor'), "the sum of $600 was collected at the Offertory for 
the purpose of building a new parsonage." 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 10$ 

"The above-named sum," says the Rev. Orsamus H. Smith, his suc- 
«cessor, "having been put upon the plate in written pledges, there re- 
mains of them unredeemed in April, 1853, from fifty to one hundred 
dollars," which being "part of the money relied upon for the building, 
. the Vestry were obliged to borrow it, and it remains a debt 
upon the parish. The new house was finished in October, 1851, and im- 
mediately occupied by the family of Mr. Smith. 

In 1858, says the Rev. W. W. Bronson: "The Glebe lot was very 
much improved by the purchase of a strip of land [on the west side] 
and the erection of a suitable fence, mainly through the exertions of the 
ladies of the parish." 

In 1863 the organ was repaired, and the broken bell replaced by a 
new one of similar tone, from Meneeley's, at Troy. 

In 1873 the church spire was repaired, and the old [English] weath- 
ercock, a relic of Colonial times (one of whose legs had been shot off by 
one of Tryon's soldiers in 1777), having persistently refused to remain 
upon his perch, was excused from further duty, and a gilded cross erect- 
ed in his place. The venerable bird, however, is still to be seen on one 
of the outbuildings of the great-grandson of the Rev. John Beach, in 
East Redding. The parsonage was adorned in 1874 with a new and 
spacious veranda, in 1876 with a set of blinds. 

The noticeable incidents of the year 1879, were the destruction of the 
church sheds by fire on the evening of the 12th of May, and the acquisi- 
tion of a baptismal font of Italian marble, purchased with contributions 
of the Sunday-school and other members of the parish, collected during 
the rectorship of the Rev. Mr. Kelley. 

On July 6, 1888, the church having been enlarged and wholly reno- 
vated, was reopened by Bishop Williams, many of the clergy and a great 
congregation being in attendance. About 1891 a vocalion organ with 
two manuals and pedals was added. 

LIST OF MINISTERS OFFICIATING IN THE PARISH OF CHRIST 

CHURCH, REDDING. 

FROM TO 

Rev. Henry Caner 1727 ^732. 

" John Beach Oct., 1732 Mar. 19, 1782. 

" rs'claA^'^i^"'-'" '^8- 

" Truman Marsh 1795- 

( Officiated a short 
'" David Belden 1786 ■) time only, on ac- 

' count of ill-health. 

" Ambrose Hull 1789 I79i- 

" David Perry, M. D 1791 Susp'd Nov. 1794 

" David Butler Jan. 20, 1799 1804. 

"' Elijah G. Plumb Jan. 30, 1806 181 1. 

" Reuben Hubbard 1812 1818. 

^' Ambrose S. Todd, D. D 1820 1823. 



I06 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

FROM TO 

Rev. Lemuel B. Hull 1824 Feb. 23, 1836. 

" Edward J. Darken, M. D Aug. 1836 Dec. 25, 1837. 

" Charles Jarvis Todd June, 1838 Easter, 1842. 

" William Atwill May 8, 1842 1845. 

" David H. Short, D. D Easter, 1845 1846. 

" Abel Nichols 1846 1847. 

" Joseph P. Taylor Easter, 1847 Dec, 1850. 

" Orsamus H. Smith Nov. 29, 1850 Mar. 31, 1853 

" Abel Ogden July 10, 1853 Died May 8, 1854 

" James Adams Autumn, 1854 Oct., 1856. 

" Wm. White Bronson 1857 i860. 

" Alfred Londerback May 25, 1861 Aug. 5, 1862., 

" Henry Zell March 12, 1863 Died Nov. 5, 1863 

" Wm. L. Bostwick Easter, 1864 June 15, 1867. 

" John W. Hoffman Dec. 6, 1S68 Nov. 30, 1871. 

" Charles W. Kelley Jan. 5, 1873 April 30, 1876. 

" Ximenus Alanson Welton July i, 1877 July 8, 1883. 

" G. Morris Wilkins & others Supplv 

" Martin B. Dunlap Aug. 17, 1884 Nov. 26, 1888. 

" Alexander Hamilton 1890 

" William A. Swan Apr. 10, 1892 September, 1899. 

" Charles Thompson Caerr Oct. 15, 1901 June i, 1903, 

" William H. Jepson Oct. 15, 1903 Now Rector 

The number of communicants belonging to Christ Church, Redding, 
as reported at different periods, were : 

In 1809 55 In i860 59- 

" 1810 63 " 1863 55 

" 1811 67 " 1866 45 

" 1815 61 " 1869 i7 

" 1817 61 " 1873 40 

" 1845 42 " 1874 55 

" 1851 60 " 1875 61 

" 1854 56 " 1877 59 

" 1856 57 " 1878 64 

" 1858 58 " 1879 65 

" 1859 56 



CHAPTER XI. 

Methodist Episcopal Church— 1 789- 1 906. 

When Jesse Lee left New York on the mission which was to quicken 
and vitalize the New England churches, his first resting-place was at 
Norwalk, where he preached on the highway under a spreading elm, no 
house being opened to him. From Norwalk he proceeded to Fairfield 
and New Haven, and from the latter place to Redding. He reached this 
town on Wednesday, the 24th of June, 1789, and from this period we are 
to date the origin of the Methodist Church in Redding, although some 
six months elapsed before it was formally organized. In his journal un- 
der the above date, Mr. Lee thus narrates some of the incidents of this 
first visit : 




METHCMMST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, REDDING CENTRE. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. lO/' 

"I travelled a stony road to Redding and according to directions call- 
ed on Esquire Benedict but he was not at home; so got my horse and 
rode to Mr. Rogers to consult him about the matter. While I was talk- 
ing to him Mr. Bartlett a Congregational minister came by, and being 
informed who I was asked me home with him. After I had been there 
a while he asked me some questions relative to doctrines, and I endeavor- 
ed to inform him what kind of doctrines we preached. He said he could 
not invite me into the meeting house, because I held what he thought 
was contrary to the gospel. I told him I did not expect an invitation to 
preach in the meeting house, but if I was asked I should not refuse. 
However Mr. Rogers sent his son down in a little time to let me know 
that there was a school house that I could preach in, so I made the ap- 
pointment for the people at six o'clock. Having met at that hour I 
preached on 'Isa. 55:6: 'Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,' &c. 
I bless God that I had some liberty in preaching." 

The school-house where this first sermon was delivered probably 
stood on the common near the old meeting-house. The few and simple 
doctrines that Mr. Lee preached were the witness of the Spirit, the entire 
efficacy of the Atonement, and the possibility of falling from grace, and 
they were presented with so much force and earnestness as to produce a 
deep impression on those who heard them ; yet he had no time to remain 
and note the effect produced, but rode away the next day, carrying his 
tidings to other communities. Twice again Lee visited Redding — July 
8th, and September i6th of the same year — without seeing any fruits of 
his efforts ; for, although many were impressed with the truth of his 
doctrines, they hesitated about coming out openly and joining the new 
sect. At length on his fourth visit, December 28th, 1789, he "joined two 
in society for a beginning. A man who has lately received a witness 
of his being in favor with the Lord led the way, and a woman who I 
hope was lately converted, followed." This was the second Methodist 
society organized in New England, the first being at Stratford. The 
first two members mentioned above were Aaron Sanford and his mother- 
in-law, Mrs. William Hawley. Mr. Sanford by this act became the first 
male member of the ^Methodist Church in New England ; he was at once 
appointed leader of the class thus formed, and its meetings were held 
for years at his house. After its organization the growth of the So- 
ciety was very rapid, chiefly through the class-meeting, and that agency^ 
so effectively used by Methodism, the lay preachers. 

It is unfortunate that, owing to the loss of the early records of the 
church, we can give the names of but few of its original members. 
From the records of the first society I copy the following certificate, 
dated December 15th, 1789: 



I08 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

"I hereby certify that Aaron Sanford of Reading, has constantly at- 
tended the Methodist meetings in this town, and pays his part toward 
my support as a minister of the gospel. 

"Jesse Lee." 

Similar certificates were given, February 9th, 1790, to Hezekiah San- 
ford, and August 6th of the same year to Isaac Sherwood and S. Samuel 
Smith. 

From the church book of baptisms which has been preserved, we 
learn that prior to 1794 the early preachers had baptized children of 
Daniel and Anna Bartram, Silas and Huldah Merchant, Jonas and Lucy 
Piatt, Paul and Mary Bartram, Jabez and Sarah Gorham, Elijah and 
Menoma Elder, Aaron and Mary Odle, John and Sarah Sherman, Uriah 
and Hannah Mead, Benjamin and EHzabeth Knap, Chester and Elizabeth 
Meeker, Charles and Lucy Morgan, Ezekiel and Easter Bertrani, Jesse 
and Martha Banks, Isaac and Betty Piatt, and Aaron and Eunice Hunt, 
and we may safely reckon them as members of the church at that time. 

Early in 1790 Lee organized his first circuit in New England; it was 
called the "Fairfield Circuit," and embraced Norwalk, Fairfield, Strat- 
ford, Milford, Redding, Danbury, Canaan, and intermediate places. The 
first regularly appointed minister whose name appears on the Society 
records was John Bloodgood, who was here as early as January 21st, 
179 1, perhaps earlier. He was a native of the South, and after serving 
on the Fairfield Circuit one year, was transferred to the Baltimore Con- 
ference, to which his ministerial labors were chiefly confined. He died 
in 1810. Like most of his colleagues, he preached in the school-houses, 
under trees, sometimes in the barns, but always so fervently, and with 
such native eloquence, that multitudes flocked to hear him. He was suc- 
ceeded at the May (1791) session of the Conference by Nathaniel B. 
Mills and Aaron Hunt. 

]\Ir. Mills is described by his colleague, Mr. Hunt, as "a. man small 
in stature, intelligent, sound, an able preacher, and rather inclined to 
dejection." He was born in New Castle County, Delaware, February 
23d, 1766. He entered the Baltimore Conference in the spring of 1787, 
and after a laborious ministry of forty-two years, both in New England 
and the South, was compelled in 1835 to retire to the ranks of the super- 
annuated, where he remained until his death in 1844. His colleague, 
Rev. Aaron Hunt, was born in Eastchester, Westchester County, N. Y., 
March 28th, 1768, and entered the Methodist ministry in 1791, making 
some of his first essays at preaching on the Redding Circuit. 

I" I793> while preaching in Redding, he married Miss Hannah San- 
ford, daughter of the Mr. Aaron Sanford before mentioned, and shortly 
after "located" in Redding, where he continued to reside for many years, 



HISTORY OF REDDING. IO9 

and where most of his large family of children were born. Mr. Hunt 
was prominent among the early Methodist preachers, and was well 
known throughout the State. During his pastorate the church had been 
encouraged by a visit from the eminent Bishop Asbury, who passed 
through Redding in June, 1791, during his hasty tour through New Eng- 
land, and preached here "with much satisfaction," as he remarks in his 
journal. The church received another and longer visit from him in Sep- 
tember, 1796. "The society in that village," says Mr. Stevens, the his- 
torian of Methodism, "had been gradually gathering strength. They as- 
sembled to greet him at Mr, Sandford's, where he gave them an encour- 
aging discourse from i Peter i: 13-15." From this time until 181 1, 
the record of the church is one of continued growth and prosperity ; re- 
vivals were frequent and accessions many; classes were early formed at 
Lonetown, Redding Ridge, Sanfordtown, Boston, and at Long Ridge, the 
latter some years later becoming a separate church organization. 

Still the society was without a house of worship, and the want was 
beginning to be severely felt. In 1803 they first leased the town-hall for 
a place of public worship, as appears by the following extract from the 
town records: "At a town meeting held December 12, 1803, it was 
voted, 'That the Town House be leased to the Methodist Society for $15 
per year to be used as often, and as much as they please for public wor- 
ship, and said Society to repair all damage done to the Town House 
while they are assembled therein for public worship.' " This lease was 
continued from year to year at varying rates, until the erection of the 
first church in 181 1. Of the building of this edifice we have no data 
except such as is contained in this extract from the society records : 

"At a Society meeting of the Methodists, duly warned and held at 
the house of William Sanford in Redding, on Tuesday the 30th day of 
October, 1810. Voted, that Seth Andrews, William Sanford, and John 
R. Hill be a committee to said society for the ensuing year, to do and 
transact all temporal business. Voted, that our said committee carry 
round a subscription paper immediately to raise money for the purpose 
of building a Meeting-House in said Redding, for the purpose of Divine 
Worship. 

"Aaron Sanford, Clerk." 

The church was built the succeeding summer. It stood on the site 
of the present residence of Mrs. Wolsey Randle, on land purchased 
of Jonathan R. Sanford, Esq. His deed conveying the land, dated June 
6th, 1811, was given to Seth Andrews, William Sanford, and John R. 
Hill, trustees for the Methodist church and society in Redding, the con- 
-sideration being $130. No actual description of the first church is pre- 
served to us, except that it was built after the usual fashion of Methodist 
churches in those days. It had no steeple nor tower, no ceiling except 



I JO HISTORY OF REDDING. 

the roof, and there were no means of warming it, except by foot-stoves 
carried in by the female worshippers. With the above exceptions, the 
following description of an early Methodist church would probably ap- 
ply to this in every particular: 

"The building was as unpolluted by paint within and without as when 
its timbers were standing in their native forest. A gallery extended 
around three sides. At the extreme end of the left gallery was a small 
room partitioned off for class meetings. The pulpit was elevated about 
six feet above the floor, and in form resembled a large dry goods box, 
the breastworks so high as almost to conceal the preacher if small of 
stature from view. From the pulpit extended a staircase conducting to 
the class-room in the gallery, to which the preacher and the members 
repaired at the close of the public service." * 

None of the incidents in the history of the old church are so vividly 
remembered and described as the quarterly meetings which were held 
there. The quarterly meeting to the early Methodist was the most im- 
portant of all the institutions of the church, and those held in Redding 
were especially noteworthy ; it was a sort of home-coming to the mother- 
church, and at such times all the Methodist homes in town were open to 
the brethren from abroad. The presiding elder and the two preachers 
on the "Circuit" were always present on these occasions, and the mem- 
bership was gathered from Danbury, Ridgefield, Easton, and Newtown, 
as well as from places more remote. The exercises on these occasions 
began at 9 o'clock on Sabbath morning with the "love-feast" and the 
passing of bread and water, of which all partook, as a token of their 
brotherhood in Christ. At 10.30 a sermon was preached by the elder. 
At 12 M. the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered. At i 
p. M. another sermon was preached, generally by one of the preachers in 
charge. At the conclusion of this discourse the genial elder would pro- 
ceed to designate to the guests their respective places of entertainment. 
T he day was usually concluded by a series of prayer-meetings held in the 
different districts, and conducted with great warmth and fervor. 

The old church seems to have been intended for a temporary struc- 
ture, and was succeeded in 1837 by the present neat and commodious 
edifice. A brief account of the erection of the present building will be 
interesting and probably nezv to many, though barely seventy years have 
elapsed since its timbers Vv^ere standing in the forest. 

We find on the society records the following entries : 

"The members of the Methodist Episcopal Society of Redding are 
hereby notified and warned, that a society's meeting for said society will 
be held on Tuesday the 26th day of instant January at one o'clock p. m. 

*Sermon of Rev. J. L. Gilder, before the N. Y. East Conference. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. Ill 

at the Methodist Church in said Redding for the purpose of taking into 
consideration the propriety of building a new church in said society, and 
locating the same near the intersection of the roads near the Town 
House, appointing a building committee to superintend and carry said 
object into effect, make arrangements to dispose of the old house if 
thought proper, and to do any other business proper to be done at said 
meeting. 

"Sherlock Todd, 
Jesse Banks, 
Aaron Mallett, 

Trustees. 
"Redding, Jan. 20, 1836." 

A society meeting was held at the appointed time — Rev. H. Hum- 
phreys being chairman, and Thomas B. Fanton, clerk. It was then 
voted "To approve of the proposed plan in the caption of the subscription 
paper to raise subscriptions and build a new house. ..." 

It was also further provided "that the said House shall be located 
somewhere near the four corners that intersect at Redding Town House, 
But the said object not to take effect, unless the sum of Two thousand 
Five hundred Dollars be subscribed, and the said House be built within 
eighteen months from the date hereof." 

Voted: "To build a House agreeable to the above caption, provided 
a place be obtained that is approved by the committee appointed for that 
purpose." 

Voted: "To appoint a Building Committee of three persons to super- 
intend, and take charge, and contract for the same House, viz. : Thomas 
B. Fanton, John R. Hill, and Gershom Sherwood." 

Voted : "To add two more to the building Committee — Jesse Banks 
and David Duncomb." 

Voted : "To adjourn the meeting two weeks from this day at one 

p. M. 

"Thomas B. Fanton, Clerk." 

No account of the adjourned meeting is to be found in the society 
records. The twenty-five hundred dollars needed were speedily sub- 
scribed, and the building was erected in the summer of 1837 and dedi- 
cated in December of the same year, Rev. C. K. True preaching the ded- 
ication sermon. 

In 1868, during the pastorate of Rev. William T. Hill, the church was 
thoroughly remodelled and refurnished. The pulpit was cut down, and 
the antique pews exchanged for the present neat and comfortable ones. 
The rededication service at this time was perhaps the most interesting 
occasion in the history Of the church. Bishop Janes was present, and 



J 1 2 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

preached the dedication sermon to an audience that filled every nook, 
and corner of the building, and many old pastors and friends of the 
church added by their presence to the interest of the occasion. 

In September, 1870, Rev. Aaron Sanford Hill gave to the churcb 
some ten acres of land lying in the northerly part of the town, the income- 
from which was to be appropriated to the use of the church. This gift 
Mr. Sanford supplemented by another of $4,000 in 1871, of which the 
interest only was to be used in meeting the expenses of the church. This 
fund is known as the Sanford Hill Fund. In 1877 another benefaction 
of $500 was given by William A. Sanford, Esq., to be applied in the same 
manner as the preceding. 

Revivals in the church have been frequent, and attended with gratify- 
ing results; notably in 181 5 under the preaching of Rev. Reuben Harris^ 
in 1822 during the pastorate of Aaron Hunt, in 1838 under that of Rev. 
John Crawford, in 1855 under Rev. E. S. Hebbard, and in 1867 under! 
Rev. William T. Hill. 

According to the minutes of the Annual Conferences the following- 
ministers were appointed to Fairfield Circuit (which included Redding),, 
beginning with its organization in 1790 : 

1790 John Bloodgood. 

1791 Nathaniel B. Mills, Aaron Hunt. 

1792 Joshua Taylor, Smith Weeks. 

1793 James Coleman, Aaron Hunt. 

1794 Zebulon Kankey, Nicholas Snethen. 

Those appointed to Redding Circuit were : 

1795 Daniel Dennis, Timothy Dewey. 

1796 Elijah Woolsey, Robert Leeds. 

1797 David Buck, Augustus Jocelyn. 

1798 William Thatcher. 

1799 David Brown. 

1800 Augustus Jocelyn. 

1801 Samuel Merwin, Isaac Candee. 

1802 James Coleman, Isaac Candee. 

1803 James Campbell, N. U. Tompkins. 

1804 Peter Moriarty, Sylvester Foster. 

1805 Peter Moriarty, Samuel Merwin. 

1806 Nathan Felch, Oliver Sykes. 

1807 James M. Smith, Zalmon Lyon. 

1808 Noble W. Thomas, Jonathan Lyon. 

1809 Billy Hibbard, Isaac Candee. 

1 8 10 Nathan Emory, John Russell. 

1811 Aaron Hunt, Oliver Sykes, and John Reynolds. 



To 



To 



To 



HISTORY OF REDDING. II 3 

8i2 Seth Crewel, Gilbert Lyon, S. Beach. 

813 Aaron Hunt, Henry Eames, 

814 Ebenezer Washburne, Reuben Harris. 

815 Elijah Woolsey, Reuben Harris. 

816 Samuel Bushnell, John Boyd. 

817 Samuel Bushnell, Theodocius Clarke. 

818 James M. Smith, Theodocius Clarke. 

819 J. S. Smith, Phineas Cook. 

820 Laban Clark, Phineas Cook. 

821 Laban Clark, Aaron Hunt. 

822 Samuel Cochrane, Aaron Hunt. 

823 Samuel Cochrane, John Reynolds. 

824 Elijah Woolsey, John Reynolds. 

Redding- and Bridgeport Circuit : 

825 Marvin Richardson, H. Humphreys, Frederic W. Siger. 

826 Marvin Richardson, H. Humphreys. 

827 Henry Stead, John Lovejoy, J. C. Bontecue. 

Redding Circuit : 

828 Henry Stead, Gershom Pearce. 

829 Ebenezer Washburn, Gershom Pearce. 

830 Ebenezer Washburn, Oliver V. Ammerman. 

831 James Young, Josiah Bowen. 

832 Nicholas White, Jesse Hunt. 

833 Jesse Hunt, John B. Beach. 

834 Josiah Bowen, John B. Beach. 

Reddinsf and Newtown Circuit: 



[835 Humphrey Humphries, Josiah L. Dickerson, John Davies. 
[836 Humphrey Humphries. 

March 28th, 1837, the society, "after due deliberation, existing cir- 
cumstances being considered, voted to try a station the ensuing year"; 
which was accordingly done, and the Rev. Humphrey Humphries be- 
came the first stated pastor. 

Since then the church has enjoyed the undivided care of its pastors, 
and has been generally prosperous and aggressive. 

The list of pastors since 1837 comprises many well-known names and 
will be read with interest. They are as follows : 

1838 John Crawford, 2d; Morris Hill. 

1839-1840 Paul R. Brown. 

1 841 -1 842 Daniel Smith. 

1843 Phillip L. Hoyt. 



TI4 



^ 




HISTORY OF REDDING 


1844-1 


845 


William F. Collins. 


1S46-] 


847 


Joseph D. Marshall. 


1 848-] 


849 


Jacob Shaw. 


1850-] 


851 


John L. Gilder. 


1852-] 


853 


Friend W. Smith. 


1854-J 


855 


E. S. Hibbard. 


1856-] 


857 


Hart F. Pease. 


1858-] 


859 


George C. Creevy. 


1859-1 


860 


Wm. H. Gilder. 


i860-] 


862 


J. W. Home. 


1 862-] 


864 


George Hollis. 


1 864-] 


867 


David Nash. 


1 867-] 


870 


Wm. T. Hill. 


1870-] 


872 


T. C. Beach. 


1 872-] 


874 


W. R. Webster. 


1874-] 


877 


Joseph Smith. 


1877-] 


879 


John Dickinson. 


1879-] 


881 


J. S. Haugh. 


1881-] 


884 


J. 0. Munson. 


1884-] 


[885 


Henry Aston. 


1885-] 


[888 


L. P. Perry. 


1888-] 


[889 


Nelson L. Porter. 


1889- 


[892 


David Taylor. 


1892-] 


[894 


E. L. Bray. 


1894-] 


[899 


B. C. Pilsbiiry. 


1899- 


[901 


F. M. Moody. 


1901- 


[903 


G. A. Veits. 


1903- 


1905 


Jabez Scott. 


1905- 


1907 


H. Q. Judd. 



Of the above list but one, Rev. Jacob Shaw, died and was buried in 1 
Redding. Of the laymen who nobly aided these clergymen in their 
ministry many will be held in grateful remembrance by the church. The 
names most familiar to the early membership perhaps, were those of the 
lay preachers : Aaron Sanford, Hawley Sanford, Rory Starr and Wal- 
ter Sanford ; the class leaders : John R. Hill, Abraham Couch, Urrai 
Mead, Sherlock Todd, and Bradley Burr; and the official members: 
Thomas B. Fanton, David S. Duncomb, Aaron Sanford, Jr., Charles 
Gorham, Eben Treadwell, and John Edmonds. 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT LONG RIDGE. 

The origin of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Long Ridge, as 
narrated by the Rev. Paul R. Brown, pastor of the church in 1842, was 
as follows : 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 1 1 5 

''One evening as Father Coleman (a Methodist preacher) was pass- 
ing through Starr's Plain on his way to Danbury, he saw a man sitting 
on the fence by the wayside, and inquired the distance to town. The 
man told him, and added: "Are you a doctor"? "No, sir." "Are you 
a lawyer"? "No, sir." "Then," said the man, following up the ques- 
tion, "What are you"? Father Coleman answered, "I am a Methodist 
preacher." "Methodist Preacher! What's that"? replied the man. "If 
you will open your house and invite in your neighbors I will let you hear 
a Methodist preacher the next time I come this way," was the reply. 
The offer was accepted, and Father Coleman preached to them on his 
next visit. He soon organized a class, and among the members of that 
class was the man who sat upon the fence and questioned the preacher. 
After that the class grew into a society, and in due time a small church 
was built at Long Ridge, which gave way to a larger edifice in the course 
of a few years." 

The first church was built when the society consisted of but eleven 
members under the following circumstances : They were assembled for 
the weekly class-meeting at the house of one of their number, and on 
speaking of their need of a church, Uriah Griffin remarked that if 
he had a hundred dollars in hand he would build them a church. David 
Osborne, the youngest member present, at once agreed to furnish the re- 
quired sum, and the church was built the same year. This was in 1820-1, 
during the pastorate of the Rev. Laban Clark. The little society at once 
became connected with Redding Station as an auxiliary, the preacher in 
charge there having the care of its temporal concerns, and filling its pul- 
pit once in four weeks.* In the interim the pulpit was supplied by the 
lay preachers, Aaron Sanford, Morris Hill, Aaron S. Hill, of Redding, 
Rory Starr, of Danbury, and others. The society's connection with Red- 
ding ceased in 1848, and the same relation was formed with the church 
in Bethel. For several years past it has been a separate station. The 
pastors of the church from 1820 to 1848 were the same as those of Red- 
ding, and are given in the history of the Redding Church. The pastors 
since 1848 have been as follows: 

1848-1849 Morris Hill. 

1850 Elias Gilbert. 

1851-1852 Charles Bartlett. 

1853-1854 George Stillman. 

1855-1856 Samuel H. Smith. 

1857-1858 John Crawford. 

*The present church edifice is situated in Danbury, a few yards from the 
Redding line, but as the church was so long identified with Redding, it was 
thought proper to preserve its history here. 



ij5 history of redding. 

1859 David Osborn. 

1860-1861 Sherman D. Barnes, local preacher. 

1 862- 1 863 Elias Gilbert. 

1864 William H. Adams. 

1865 J. W. Bramblee. 
1866-1867 G. W. Polley, local. 

1868 Stephen J. Stebbins. 

1869 James H. Crofut, local. 

1870 Frank F. Jorden, local. 

1 87 1 William P. Armstrong, local. 

1872 Frank J. Jorden, local. 

1873 Joseph W. Pattison, local. 
1874-1875 William Cogswell, local. 
1876 Joseph W. Pattison, local. 
1877-1878 Charles A. Wilson, local. 
1879-1881 Henry A. Van Dalsem. 
1881-1882 George W. Peterson. 
1 882- 1 883 Henry Wheeler. 
1883-1884 Joseph D. Munson. 
1888 Nelson L. Porter. . j 
1894-1896 Robert J. Beach. j 
1896-1897 F. H. Sawyer. 

1 897- 1 898 George W. Osmun. i 

1898-1901 D. Carl Yoder. ■ : 

1901-1903 A. J. Amery. j 

1 903- 1 904 John L. Clymer. 

1904-1905 William S. Reed. 

1905- 1906 Floyd W. Foster. 

1906 John W. Mace. 

A few yards from Redding Station, on the banks of the Saugatuckl 
River, is situated the old camp-ground, noted for being the place where 
the first camp-meeting of the Methodists in New England was held. 
Just when this event occurred we are unable to state, but it was about 
1810, probably under the leadership of Nathan Bangs. The tents of this 
first assemblage were of the most primitive kind, many of them being 
constructed of the branches of trees, and others of blankets stretched over 
a frame-work of poles. Meetings continued to be held in this grove 
every year for over sixty years. 

About i860, owing to some difficulty in leasing the grounds, and 
from other causes, the meetings here were discontinued, and another 
camp-ground opened at Milford, Conn., on the line of the Naugatuck 
Railroad. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



117 



This grove was, however, soon abandoned, never having been popu- 
lar with the Methodist pubhc. In 1878, after the lapse of nearly 
twenty years, the old camp-ground at Redding was reopened, and that 
year a very successful and well-attended meeting was held there. 

It was supposed, then, that the grove would be purchased and con- 
tinue to be used for camp-meeting purposes, but this desirable consumma- 
tion was not effected. 



CHAPTER Xll. 

The Baptist Church in Georgetown (now extinct.) 

That there was a society of Baptists in Redding as early as 1785, 
appears from an entry in the records of the First Society, dated Decem- 
ber 9th, 1785, where Michael Wood has a certificate given him by John 
Lee, Deacon, as a member of the Baptist church in Redding. 

Similar certificates were given to John Couch, Micayah Starr, and 
Jabez Wakeman ; but we have no evidence of the existence of a church 
here until 1833. O'^ the 28th of January of that year an ecclesiastical 
council was held at the house of Timothy Wakeman, in Redding, and a 
church formally organized. The record ol the proceedings of this meet- 
ing constitutes the first entry in the Church Book of Records, and is as 
follows : 

"Chose Elder Thomas Lascombe Moderator, and Elder Nathan Wild- 
man, Clerk. Invited Brethren present to a seat with the Council. Pro- 
ceeded to hear the Articles and Covenant, also reasons why they wished 
to be constituted into a Church. The Council unanimously voted to 
proceed to the constitution. Repaired to the meeting house. Intro- 
ductory prayer and sermon by Elder Nathan Wildman. Right hand of 
fellowship in behalf of the Council, and closing prayer by Elder Thomas 
Lascombe. 

"Nathan Wildman, Clerk." 

There were but 18 original members — 4 males and 14 females. For 
some years there was no settled pastor, and the pulpit was supplied al- 
ternately, once in four weeks, by Elders S. Ambler, of Danbury, and 
Stephen B. Bray, a licentiate from Southbury, Conn. Elders N. Wild- 
man, of Weston ; Erastus Doty, of Colebrook, Conn., and Chandler Cur- 
tis also preached occasionally. June 3d, 1837, the church extended a 
unanimous call to Rev. William Bowen, of Mansfield, Conn., which was 
accepted, and he became the first pastor of the church. He continued 



I 1 3 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

to sustain this relation to the church until November, 1838, when he was 
dismissed, owing to the inability of the society to meet his salary. The 
same month the church edifice was nearly destroyed by mob violence — 
the only instance of the kind that ever occurred in this staid and con- 
servative town. 

It was 1838, the period of the slavery excitement, when abolitionist 
and pro-slavery men engaged in almost daily conflict, and men thought 
to stifle with shot-gun and bludgeon the first faint stirrings of the na- 
tional conscience. A few pithy entries in the church records thus refer 
to the aft'air: 

"Nov. 26th. Rev. Nathaniel Colver lectured on slavery in our 
meeting house — was disturbed by unruly persons." 

"27th. Another lecture on Slavery molested as night before." 

"28th. Meeting house blown up by a mob, but not entirely destroy- 
ed." 

This is all the information the church records give us on the subject, 
but from the files of the Norwalk Gasette for that year we glean a full 
account of the affair. This article is interesting, as showing the man- 
ner in which even the Whigs handled the question of slavery at that 
time. 

"High-handed Outrage. — We learn that Judge Lynch has been ex- 
ercising his summary proceedings in this vicinity within the week past. 
Colver, the abolitionist lecturer, has been holding forth, as we understand, 
for a number of evenings, on the subject of immediate emancipation, in 
the Baptist church in Redding, and in the course of his lectures had taken 
occasion to exhibit before his audience the practical oiiial ganiationism of 
the Vice-President of the United States, the Hon. Richard AI. Johnson. 
We are informed that he accused this distinguished personage of mak- 
ing merchandise of the ofifspring of his own loins, of selling his own 
sons and daughters into slavery. This so enraged some of his political 
partisans, that they determined to abolish the walls which had echoed the 
nefarious libel upon 'Dick, the Tecumseh Killer.' So, after the lecture 
was concluded, a keg of gunpowder was deposited under the church 
which had been profaned by these abolition orgies — and about two 
o'clock on the morning of the 29th ult. the church was blown 'sky-high/ 
as John Randolph used to say. It was a small building of one story» 
and not worth more than $500. But notwithstanding the provocation, 
and notwithstanding the comparatively trifling amount of damage oc- 
casioned by this wanton outrage, we most sincerely deprecate the pre- 
valence of a spirit which does violence to the dearest rights of every 
freeman in the land — the freedom of speech and of opinion. We are no 
apologists for the intemperate and fanatic zeal of the abolitionists; but 
we deem it the duty of every press in the land to cry out against such 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



119 



violations of the Constitution and laws. And though we would denounce 
in the severest terms the exasperating conduct of the abolitionists, we 
would at the same time do our utmost to bring the trespassers upon the 
rights which the Constitution guarantees to every citizen and the viola- 
tors of the public peace, to condign punishment." * 

This action of the mob, with the dissensions engendered by it, proved 
a sad blow to the church, and from which it never fully recovered, al- 
though it continued in existence for several years. Elder John H. Water- 
bury served the church as pastor for some months in 1839, and was suc- 
ceeded in 1841 by Elder John Noyes, of North Haven. 

Mr. Noyes' letter of dismission from the Baptist church in North 
Haven is as follows : 

"The Baptist Church in North Haven to the Baptist Church in Reading, 

"Dear Brethren. This certifies that Rev. John Noyes and his wife 
Ann are members of this church in good standing, and as such we com- 
mend them to your Christian affection and fellowship. We have voted 
that when they are received by you, we shall consider their connection 
with us dissolved. 

"In behalf of the church in North Haven. 

"M. F. Robinson, Clerk. 
"May I, 1841." 

April 2d, 1842, Mr. Noyes was dismissed to Phillipstown, N. Y. 
Rev. George Crocker, of Danbury, supplied the pulpit for the succeed- 
ing twelve months. Elder David Pease was the next preacher, he being 
called February nth, 1844. His connection with the church was short 
and uneventful. There is no record of any other preacher being called ; 
in fact, the society was becoming too weak to support an organization, 
and shortly after, in October, 1847, was dissolved by the unanimous vote 
of its members. 



*A resident of Georgetown at the time gives the following additional par- 
ticulars : About two o'clock on the morning following Mr. Colver's lecture, the 
inhabitants of Georgetown were startled by a tremendous report and rumbling 
noise, which jarred the houses and broke the windows in the immediate neighbor- 
hood. In the morning, this unusual disturbance was found to have been caused 
by the explosion of a keg of powder which had been placed directly under the 
pulpit, a portion of the underpinning of the church having been removed for that 
purpose. The pulpit was demolished, the front of the building displaced several 
fefjt, the windows broken out, and the walls destroyed. 



J20 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

CHAPTER Xlll. 

The Methodist Protestant Church in Georgetown. 

(Now the Congregational Church.) 

The Methodist Protestant Church in Georgetown had its origin in a 
small schism in the Methodist Episcopal Church, commencing about 
1818, in the New York Conference. 

Among the ministers who seceded from the church at this time was 
the Rev. William M. Still well, who, in 1820, organized a small class of 
persons in Georgetown, sharers in his peculiar ideas of church polity, 
but who still retained the name of Methodist, though called by their op- 
ponents Still wellites. In 1829 a convention was held and adopted the 
name of Methodist Protestant, and in 1839 the church at Georgetown 
was formally organized as the Methodist Protestant Church and Society 
of Wilton Circuit. The first members of the class, so far as can be ascer- 
tained, were Ebenezer Hill, Banks Sherwood, David Nichols, Isaac Os- 
borne, and Benjamin Gilbert and wife. The first minister was Rev. 
William M. Stillwell. The first entry in the church records is as fol- 
lows: 

"The first Methodist Protestant church in Redding was organized in 
the year of our Lord 1839, on the 15th of the 9th month, at a regular 
warned meeting held at the house of Sturges Bennett. The following 
officers were chosen. David Nichols, chairman, John O. St. John, sec- 
retary. John O. St. John was duly elected clerk of said society, and the 
oath was administered by Walker Bates, Esq. John O. St. John was 
also elected Treasurer of said society." 

Aaron Osborne was the first sexton. (He was to open the church 
thirty minutes before service, sweep the house, make the fires, and at- 
tend to the lights, for a yearly salary of $6.00.) 

A house of worship had been built in 1839, prior to the organization 
of the church, by John O. St. John and Charles Scribner. For a num- 
ber of years the church records show only the ordinary routine of busi- 
ness. In 185 1, March loth, a society's meeting passed the following 
resolutions : 

"Resolved, ist: That we take into consideration the amount of Dam- 
age sustained by the society, by the Danbury and Norwalk R. R. crossing 
the society's grounds near this house of worship. 2nd : That the assess- 
ment of damages by crossing the society's grounds be left to three men 
— one chosen by the trustees, one by the Rail Road contractors, and 
these two to choose a third. 3rd : That the trustees be instructed to hold 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 12 1 

the contractors or Rail Road Company responsible for all damage to the 
society's house of worship." 

To these resolutions a meeting held December 27th, 185 1, added the 
following : 

"Resolved, by vote of this meeting that the society's committee be au- 
thorized to give by deed to the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad Com- 
pany a right of way across said Society's ground, for the consideration 
of one hundred and fifty Dollars." At a meeting held February 19th, 
1853: "On motion S. M. Main and Hiram St. John, were appointed a 
committee to circulate a subscription to raise money to build a parson- 
age house." A meeting held November 17th, 1853, voted: "that the 
society's committee be authorized to circulate a subscription paper, to 
raise money to the amount of six hundred dollars for the purpose of pur- 
chasing Mr. Weed's house for a parsonage; and at a subsequent meeting 
held November 26th, the committee were authorized to purchase Mr. 
Weed's house so soon as six hundred dollars is pledged for that purpose." 
It was also voted that the "horse sheds be located 40 feet south of the 
butternut tree in the yard, provided the ground can be obtained for one 
dollar." 

At a meeting held December 7th, 1867, Messrs John R. Sturges, J. 
O. St. John and Sturges Bennett were appointed a committee to ascer- 
tain the denominational preferences of all the members of the church, 
"with a view to a change of name to that of Congregational, or that of 
letting it be the"JvIethodist Protestant Meeting." 

This committee reported to an adjourned meeting, held December 
14th, in favor of a change of name, and by a unanimous vote the name 
of the church was changed from Methodist Protestant to Congregational. 
It was also voted to petition the next legislature to change the name of 
the society in accordance with the above vote, and to secure to the Con- 
gregational Society the property now held by the Methodist Protestant 
Society. The committee appointed for this purpose were Messrs. David 
E. Smith, Hiram St. John, and E. G. Bennett. From October, 1865, to 
May, 1875, the church was supplied by Rev. Samuel St. John, of George- 
town. He was succeeded by Rev. Albert H. Thompson, of Yale Theo- 
logical Seminary, who supplied the pulpit until November, 1876. Mr. 
Thompson's successor was Rev. C. B. Strong, of Hartford Seminary, 
who remained until the close of 1877. The present pasitor, the Rev. C. 
A. Northrop, began his labors with the church January 6th, 1878, and 
was ordained and installed as pastor October 2d, 1878. 

The records of the Methodist Protestant Church give no data of the 
settlement or dismissal of pastors. From old members of the church, 
however, I gain the following names of those who served the church in 



122 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

this capacity. The Hst is probably complete,* though tHie names are not 
given in the order of succession. They were : William M. Stillwell, 

Stephen Treadwell, Abram Glasgow, Stephen Remington, Sheme- 

all, Vredenburgh, James Summerbell, Aaron G. Brewer, Richard 

K. Diossy, James RoUiston, William McCutchen, William H. Bosely, 

William Cliff, Samuel M. Henderson, Jacob Timberman, Wade, 

Elizur W. Griswold, Merwin Lent, William H. Johnson, John L. Am- 
bler, Joseph J. Smith, Joshua Hudson, Thomas K. Witsel, John H. 
Painter, M. E. Rude, William C. Clarke. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

History of Schools. 

We have before spoken of the care of our Puritan ancestors to pro- 
vide for the church and the ministry in their infant settlements. They 
were equally careful to furnish them with the school and the teacher. If 
piety was one of the pillars of democracy, so also was intelligence ; and 
church and school were alike deemed indispensable to the growth and 
security of the state; hence we find the pioneers of Redding making 
early provision for the establishment of schools among them. The first 
recorded movement of the parish in the matter was in 1737, when, at a 
parish meeting held December 26th, 1737, it was voted to have a parish 
school, and to maintain said school by a parish rate. John Read, Joseph 
Lee, Joseph Sanford, John Hull, Nathan Lion, Stephen Morehouse, and 
Daniel Lion were the first school committee. The meeting also voted: 
"that said school be divided into three parts, that is to say, five months 
in that quarter called the Ridge, and five months on the west side of the 
parish near the mill, and two months at Lonetown, understanding that 
the centre of division is the meeting-house, and that Stephen Burr be- 
longs to the west side." 

These were the original school districts of the town ; in them the first 
rude school-houses were erected, and from the one to the other went the 
peripatetic school-master as his duties called him. These school-houses 
were built of logs ; their furniture was of the most meagre description, 
consisting of a sloping desk of boards affixed to the wall and extending 
around three sides of the building, benches of rough-hewn plank and a 
planed pine board whereon the student "figgered" with bits of charcoal. 
Nor was the curriculum of the schools much more extensive. Reading, 

*To 1880. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



123 



writing, and arithmetic were all that was then thought necessary for the 
country boy to know ; further knowledge was to be acquired in schools 
of a higher grade. 

As years passed on, and new families moved into the place, the dis- 
tricts became strong enough each to support its own school. 

Hence we find a parish meeting held December loth, 1742, voting: 
"that the interest of the school money belonging to the parish shall be 
divided into three equal parts for the year ensuing, for the maintaining 
of three separate schools (each to be kept by a master), one third part 
of the money for that part of the Parish east of Little River, one third 
part for that part of the Parish between Little River and the Saugatuck 
River, and one third for that part west of the Saugatuck. Provided, 
that each part of the Parish as above divided, keep a school as above- 
said three months in the year ensuing, but if any part of the Parish fail 
in keeping a school as abovesaid, the other two parts that keep said 
school, shall equally divide the said money between them, and if two 
parts of the Parish fail in keeping a school as abovesaid, that part of the 
Parish that shall keep said school the three months, shall draw the whole 
of the school money." The same districts are defined in the appro- 
priation of the school money in 1743 as being "the school on the West 
side of Aspetuck River, the school by Mill River (Saugatuck), and the 
school by the Church." 

In 1745 the appropriation was made to the same districts, with the 
provision that each should "keep a school with a school master sufficient- 
ly capable to learn children to Wright and Reade." 

There seems to have been no change in this respect until 1764, when 
it was voted : "that the school money should be subdivided according to 
the lists within such subdivisions." In 1768 the bounds of the districts 
were first set out by a committee appointed at town meeting for the pur- 
pose. This first committee consisted of Stephen Mead, Daniel Hill, and 
Daniel Sanford. The school committee for this year, appointed at town 
meeting, consisted of seven, and it is probable that each represented a 
district — which would give us seven districts in the town at that time. 

December 19th, 1792, the following important vote was taken: "that 
the school money shall be lodged with the Treasurer, and he to collect 
the interest arising on the school bonds annually by the first day of April, 
the Interest already arisen and unpaid to be collected forthwith, and in 
failure of payment of back interest, he to send the bond, or bonds, and 
collect principal and interest, and to conduct in the same manner on 
neglect of annual payment of interest on said Bonds, and to pay said 
Interest and School Money to the School Committee as it may be ap- 
propriated by the committee of the Districts annually." 

As to the source or origin of these school bonds, or by whom taken, 



124 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



I am unable to give a positive answer. The town of Redding has a 
school fund of $400, distinct from the State fund, and which dates back 
to a period beyond the reach of memory or tradition; it is more than 
probable, however, that it was the sum realized from the sale of lands in 
Litchfield County in 1733, called western lands, and which was divided 
among the several towns in proportion to their poll list and ratable estate 
for that year and to be secured and forever improved for the use of the 
schools kept in said towns according to law. Redding, unlike most of 
her sister towns, has preserved this fund inviolate, and still uses its pro- 
ceeds in support of her schools. In 1795 came the sale of the Western 
Reserve, and Connecticut's munificent grant to her common schools, 
which has put them in the front rank of educational forces, and con- 
tributed so much to the material prosperity of the State. In October of 
that year the inhabitants of Redding met, and formed themselves into a 
school society, in order that they "might have the advantage of the 
monies arising from the sale of western lands." Peter Sanford, James 
Rogers, and Simeon Munger were the first committee chosen by this 
society. Prior to 1870, the cost of supporting the schools above that 
derived from the school funds was borne by the parents or guardians of 
the scholars, but in that year the legislature passed a law compelling the 
towns to maintain free schools, and this plan has since been pursued. 

From an early period Redding has been favorably known for the 
number and excellence of her select schools ; some of these were conduct- 
ed by the pastors of the different churches, and others by professional 
teachers. One of the earliest of these schools was that kept by S. Samuel 
Smith, Esq., in the centre. The Rev. Jonathan Bartlett opened a school 
for boys and young men about 1795, that attained a high reputation and 
flourished for a term of years ; his school was kept in his dwelling- 
house — now the residence of Mr. Lemuel Sanford. The first boarding- 
school in town was opened by Mr. Walker Bates about 1825. Mr. Bates 
was a pupil of Mr. Bartlett's, and a very successful teacher. A few 
years after, Mr. Eli Gilbert opened a select school at the centre, which 
continued in successful operation for a term of years ; and in 1836 two 
schools were established on Redding Ridge — one by Mr. John Osborne, 
the other by Mr. Aaron B. Wilson. 

One of the most noteworthy schools of the town was the Redding 
Institute, founded by Daniel Sanford, A. M., in the fall of 1847. (See 
Chapter XXII.) 

The boarding-school opened by Mr. Burton Bradley about 1850, and 
Miss Polly Sellick's boarding-school for young ladies, founded in 1844, 
were successful and well-conducted institutions. The Misses Sanford 
also had a select school for young children. 

In 1878 Rev. Aaron S. Sanford, of New Haven, donated the sum of 
five thousand dollars for the endowment of a High School. This muni- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



125 



ficent gift was accepted by the people of the town, and the Hill Academy 
was incorporated under the laws of the State. The first trustees of the 
institution, seven in number, were Francis A. Sanford, Aaron Tread- 
well, John Todd, X. Alanson Welton, Stephen Sanford, Thaddeus M. 
Abbott, and Arthur B. Hill. 

The first principal of the academy was Mr. T. M. W. George, of 
Hartford, who closed his first year's labor July ist, 1879. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Manufactures. 

In 1793, under a State law, a specific tax was laid on the various 
trades and professions, and from the grand list of that year we may 
gather accurate knowledge of the number of tradesmen, artisans, and 
professional men in the town at that time. 



The following table is prepared from this list : 



Trade or Profession. 



Tax. 



ATTORNEYS. 

Thaddeus Benedict $60 

S. Sam Smith 5° 

PHYSICIANS. 

Thomas Davies 10 

Thomas Peck 10 

TRADERS, 

James Rogers 25 

Benj. Sanford & Co 25 

Stephen Betts & Co 25 

William Heron 25 

Ezekiel Jackson & Co 25 

Abijah Parsons 25 

tailors. 

Justus Whitlow 5 

Joel Byington 5 

clothier. 

Elisha Bradley 5 

wheelwright. 

Joel Gray 5 

COOPER. 

Stephen Gray 5 

joiners. 

Eli Lyon 5 

Stephen Lyon 5 

Daniel Perry 5 



Trade or Profession. Tax. 

blacksmiths. 

Aaron Barlow $ 5 

Thaddeus Abbott 5 

Enoch Merchant 5 

weavers. 

Chauncey Merchant 5 

saddler. 

Edward Starr 5 

tanners and shoemakers. 

Asahel Salmon 5 

tavern-keepers. 

Stephen Betts 15 

Ezekiel Sanford 15 

Ezekiel Jackson 15 

Abel Burr 15 

grist-mills. 

Ephraim Wheeler 3 

Stephen Burr and Daniel Perry.... 6 

Seth Meeker & Co 4 

Crawford & Sanford 5 

saw-mills. 

Stephen & John Fairchild 4 

Oliver Sanford 4 

Barlow & Sanford 6 

Enos & Seth Wheeler 4 

iron-works. 

Oliver Sanford 10 



120 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

From this date down to 1850 the town made a very creditable ad- 
vance in manufactures. The iron smelting works of Oliver Sanford in 
Sanfordtown were one of its earliest and most prominent industries. 
Ore was broug'ht from Brookfield and Roxbury in great wagons and 
smelted at the mills, and after smelting was conveyed in the same man- 
ner to Westport or Norwalk, and shipped to various points. This enter- 
prise was the pioneer of its kind in America, and proved quite profitable 
to its projector. The works were entirely destroyed in the great freshet 
of 1805, and never afterward rebuilt, the business being removed to 
Valley Forge. Fulling-mills were early erected, the first, probably, by 
Abraham Fairchild about 1742, near Nobb's Crook, on the Saugatuck 
River. The first woollen-mill was erected in 181 2, near the site of the 
old fulling-mill, by Comstock, Foster & Co. It did a prosperous busi- 
ness through the war and for some years afterward. It was later bought 
by Mr. Joel Foster, one of the members of the old company, who con- 
tinued the business until the burning of the factory in 1843, or 1844. 
Carriages began to be built in Sanfordtown as early as 1800, and the 
business soon became one of the leading industries of the town. Ephraim 
Sanford built the first carriage factory in the rear of the house on the 
corner now owned by Mr. George Treadwell. He was succeeded in 
1820 by his two sons David and Enoch A. Sanford. David Sanford 
died in 1834, and the business was continued by Enoch A. Sanford, the 
susviving partner. A few years after, Daniel Sanford was admitted a 
partner, and the firm entered largely into the Southern trade. In this 
they proved unfortunate, and failed. Subsequently Mr. E. A. Sanford 
formed a partnership with Charles Duncomb, and later with G. A. San- 
ford, by whom the business was conducted with varying success. In its 
palmiest days this firm did a large business, employing from twenty-five 
to thirty men, and maintaining a depot for their goods in New York. 
Mr. Aaron Bartram built a carriage factory in 1840 and in gompany 
with Mr. Eben Wilson did a large business for a term of years. Mr. 
Bradley Sanford began the manufacture of carriage axles in Sanford- 
town in 1833, and continued it until 1838, when he was succeeded by 
Mr, G. A. Sanford. 

Hat-making was at one time a prominent industry in Redding. To 
Mr. Billy Comstock is due the credit of erecting the first hat manufactory, 
which stood near his house in the Boston district. Mr. Daniel Gould 
had a large hat shop in Lonetown, and later Mr. Jesse Banks carried on 
the business somewhat extensively in Sanfordtown. He employed at 
one time from twenty-five to thirty men, and supplied the Southern and 
West India market. Mr. Milo Lee also carried on the business for a 
number of years, first with Mr. Banks, and afterward in a factory near 
his house. Bricks were made at one time by Mr. Alanson Lyon, on 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



127 



Redding Ridge; and in the same district a large shirt manufactory was 
once in successful operation, under the management of Mr. Curtis Fan- 
ton, and his son, Henry Fanton. In 1856 the Redding Manufacturing 
Company was organized in Sanfordtown for the manufacture of pins, 
and other small articles of brass. A large building in Sanfordtown, long 
icnown as the pin factory, was built by this company; for a time its 
prospects for a successful career were excellent, but owing to some mis- 
management on the part of the directors, it soon proved a failure. 

The Hill Limekiln in Lonetown is perhaps the oldest lime-burning 
establishment in the State. It was probably opened at an early day by 
Colonel John Read, who was the owner of the tract of land in which the 
quarry is situated. In 1810 it came into the possession of Jolm R. Hill, 
a grandson of Colonel Read, who conducted an extensive business and 
acquired a fortune. Mr. Hill retired in 1823, and was succeeded at dif- 
ferent periods by his sons Aaron S. Hill, Moses Hill, William Hill, and 
John L. Hill. These gentlemen conducted the business with the same 
energy and success that had characterized their father's management. 
Since Mr. John L. Hill's retirement, the business has been conducted, 
successively, by Messrs. Ames & Osborne, Barnes, Smith, Philo Wood, 
John Todd, and Arthur Todd. 

In 1842 Squire James Sanford built a foundry on tlie Aspetuck River 
in the Foundry district, and entered largely into the manufacture of 
agricultural implements. He had before invented an improved hay-cut- 
ting machine, in whidi the cutting was done by revolving cylinders 
furnished with knives, which he manufactured here, and which had an 
extensive sale throughout the country. 

The Aspetuck River, dashing through a gorge in this district, fur- 
nishes abundant water-power,, and this the skill and energy of the San- 
ford brothers long utilized in the manufacture of buttons. Their three 
button factories had a capacity of between three and four hundred gross 
of buttons per day, employed twenty-eight hands, and made this district 
one of the busiest and most prosperous localities in the town. 

The pleasant village of Georgetown, in the western part of Redding, 
owes its existence largely to the establishment in its midst of the Gilbert 
& Bennett Manufacturing Company's works. An account of tihis great 
corporaition written for this work by its late president, possesses, since his 
death, a peculiar interest. 



128 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Gilbert-Bennett Manufacturing Company. 

By Edwin Gilbert. 

I have been asked to give an account not only of the above named 
company but of the conditions of manufacturing that obtained in my boy- 
hood and youth. These were very different from those of the present 
day. There were then no great factories, with ingenious and compli- 
cated machines doing the work of many hands, and a system of organ- 
ization as perfect and complete as that of any army. The day of the 
traveling tailor and shoemaker who went from house to house providing 
shoes and clothing for the families, had barely passed. Such things as 
were manufactured — and their volume was very small compared to that 
of the present day — were made in small shops by the proprietor and a 
small force of journeymen and apprentices. Such were the conditions 
when in 1818 the idea occurred to Benjamin Gilbert, of Georgetown, that 
the unused, long hair of cattle and horses collected by him in his business 
of tanner and currier might be turned to account by weaving into sieves 
for the use of housewives in sifting meal and flour. He accordingly 
made a loom in which his wife, a woman of great energy and strong 
character, wove the hair, and himself made the "hoops," out of sawed 
strips of wood, by shaving them with the old-fashioned drawing knife. 
This was the first sieve ever invented. It met a popular demand and it 
was soon necessary to introduce machinery to saw and smooth the hoops. 
A good deal of this work was also let out to the neighbors, thus intro- 
ducing the idea of co-operation and concerted action, as seen in the mod- 
ern factory. When twelve dozen sieves a day were being produced the 
business was thought a large one, and the firm moved from the basement 
of the Gilbert homestead, where it began operations, into an old saw mill 
near by. 

About 1826, Mr. Gilbert also invented a machine for picking hair, 
which proved very successful, and the business so increased that a room 
was secured in a s'hop in connection with David Nichols, where a small 
water-wheel furnished power to run the picker and the twisting machine 
which gave the necessary "curl" to the hair. Another idea of Mr. Gil- 
bert's about this time, was the making of mattresses from hair, anrl -^i -o 
of using it to stuff the cushions of carriages, and very soon the firm was 
furnishing the great carriage manufactories of New Haven, Bridgeport 
and ortier cities with hair for this purpose. 

Soon after, Sturges Bennett, of Wilton, who had married the eldest 
daughter of Benjamin Gilbert, took an interest in the business, under the 



i 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 120 

firm name of Gilbert & Bennett, and assisted in every way to secure suc- 
cess. It thus became necessary to obtain a salesman to dispose of their 
goods, and Edmund Hurlburt, of Wilton, was secured and made a very 
successful salesman, travehng all over New England with horses and 
Vvagon, collecting the raw material and selling the finished product. 
About 1829 the firm was enlarged by the admission of Mr. Hurlburt 
(who meantime had married another daug-'hter of Benjamin Gilbert) and 
of William J. Gilbert, the eldest son of the founder. 

In 1834 the business had so increased that a mill site was bought 
nearly opposite the present Georgetown railroad station, and a mill built 
thereon, always known as the "red mill," and used until its destruction 
by fire in 1889, a period of fifty-five years. In 1842 Edwin Gilbert, the 
second son of the founder was admitted a member of the firm, and as his 
health was delicate, he was sent out on the road to sell goods, as his elder 
brother had been doing for years, journeying as far west as Ohio. In 
1847 Benjamin Gilbert, the founder, died after an illness of several years 
that incapacitated him for active business. Previously, in 1837, some 
fine wire had been secured and woven into wire cloth on a carpet loom 
owned by a neighbor — the first wire cloth ever maide in America, and 
which rendered possible in a short time the manufacture of wire sieves. 

In 1850 the manufacture of glue was added to the company's busi- 
ness and some important improvements in its manufacture were intro- 
duced, notably the substituting of wire for cotton netting on which to 
dry it, as 'had formerly been done. This revolutionized the method of 
drying glue and has been adopted by all makers. In April, 1856, David 
H. Miller, who had previously had some experience in the business in 
New York, joined the company's staff as bookkeeper and by his business 
ability contributed greatly to its success. He is at this present writing 
(February, 1906) Vice-President and Treasurer.* In 1857 the company 
began the manufacture of coal hods and continued it until 1864, and in 
1861 the manufacture of painted wire cloth, which was the first to be put 
on the market. A wire mill was built in 1863 for the manufacture of 
iron wire, and other buildings added from time to time as business de- 
manded it. Two years later machinery was introduced for weaving 
wire cloth in power looms which before had been done by hand. 

On Sunday, May 11, 1874, just at the sun rising, the cry of "fire" 
startled the village, and the latest, most complete and most valuable of 
the factory buildings was found to be on fire. There was no fire ap- 
paratus with which to fight the flames, and the company's officials and 
the throngs of men, women and children that quickly gathered could do 
nothing but look on while building after building with its intricate and 
costly machinery was reduced to as'hes. In an hour and twenty minutes 

*Elected President on Mr. Gilbert's death. 



I30 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



the labor of years was destroyed, and a pnoperty loss of $200,000 sus- 
tained, on which there was an insurance of but $40,000. Dismay was to 
be seen on every face — for nearly all were dependent on the factories for 
■their daily bread — ^but they were reassured by the officers of the company 
who declared that the shops should be rebuilt before the snow flew. 

In rebuilding two new departures were necessary — the firm was or- 
ganized as a joint stock company, and the Danbury & Norwalk Railroad 
was prevailed on to run a spur track up to the factories, thus giving much 
better facilities for shipping freight. In the new factories the latest 
hygienic and sanitary improvements were introduced, and much more 
cositly and ingenious machines for the manufacture of the company's 
staples were constructed. On March 23, 1877, the glue and curled hair 
department of the business was sold, the company turning its attention 
more particularly to the production of wire goods. There is no product 
of wire more universally used at present, perhaps, than galvanized wire 
cloth, and this product the Gilbert-Bennett Manufacturing Company was 
the first to invent and place on the market. 

Thus briefly and imperfectly I have sketched the origin and progress 
of an industry. When one compares the cellar basement of 1818 and its 
one article of manufacture with the present factories, covering 150,000 
square feet in an area of some fifteen acres, requiring 400 horsepower 
to drive them, with nearly 600 employes, and scores of patented machin- 
ery and processes turning out many tons daily of wire cloth, wire netting, 
wire fencing, fire proofing, and other products of wire, many of them 
first invented and introduced by the company, the contrast is almost 
startling, and one can but wonder if the same ratio of improvement is to 
be continued for the next seventy-five years, and if so, as to the state of 
perfection that will then be attained. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Miscellaneous. 

A favorite dish with the Latin nations is the olla podrida — a thing of 
shreds and patches, composed of odds and ends of the larder that could 
be utilized in no other way. This chapter is intended as a sort of mental 
olla podrida, and we have no doubt will prove as varied, if not as savory, 
as the dish above described. For our first ingredients we inseft some 
quaint and curious extracts from the town records as follows : 

January 2d, 1778. It was voted, "that the selectmen provide a Spade, 
Pick Axe, and Hoe to be kept for the use of digging graves." August 



HISTORY OF REDDING. j -y j 

II, 1873, "Voted, that the town will set up a singing meeting. Voted 
to lay a tax of id. on a pound to pay the Singing Master." March 13, 
1787, "Voted not to admit Small Pox by innocuktion : Voted to admit 
Small Pox by Innoculation next fall." October. 19th, 1795 : "Voted that 
the selectmen prosecute those persons that cut timber on the highways." 
September 19th, 1798: "Voted that the dis'trict to which Silas Mer- 
chant belongs, shall pay him $2 for his dragg." In 1801 tlie town 
voted to relinquish to Enoch Merchant the fine imposed on him 
by William Heron, Esq., for "admitting puppet s'hows into his house 
•contrary to law." December 20th, 1802, John Read, Jr., was "ex- 
cused" for admitting puppet shows into his house, "on said Read's 
paying the costs." In 1804 it was voted, "that this town will not 
remit to Ebenezer Robinson of Danbury, the fine imposed on him by 
William Heron Esq. for breaking the Sabbath, which fine is now uncol- 
lected." The same year Aaron Read was appointed "Keeper of the 
Key to the Town House." In 1807, it was voted to remit the fines' — 
$1,67 in amount — of Peter Bradley, and Nancy his wife, for Sabbath- 
ibreaking: also voted, that William Heron Esq. be paid $11.08, amount 
of costs in defending a suit brought by William P. Jones against him, 
for a fine collected and paid into the treasury o'f the town. In 1808, 
-voted that the town will remit the fines of all those persons who labored 
•on the Sabbath the 31st of July last past, in this town, on payment of 
costs. In 1817, Daniel Sanford and Aaron Burr were appointed a com- 
mittee to procure the fish called pike, and put in Umpawaug Pond. In 
1840 it was voted, that if any non-resident should kill birds within the 
limits of the town he should be fined and if he killed robins, except in 
case of sickness, he should be fined $5. 

In the records of a town meeting held December 8th, 1806, occurs the 
following curious entry : "Voted, that S. Samuel Smith, Lemuel Sanford. 
and Benjamin Meeker be a committee to write to William Crawford re- 
questing him to name the person belonging to Redding to whom he de- 
livered Mrs. Sarah Fleming's letter in May last, notifying him that in 
case of refusal, the Inhabitants of this town, will feel them'selves author- 
ized to declare bo the world, that he never did deliver such a letter to any 
person belonging to Redding." 

Conversing with an aged citizen of Redding on the generous and 

confiding nature of our towns-people, he substantiated the fact by a list 

of the public enterprises wbich they had aided at diflferent times, with the 

amount contributed to each, as follows : 

Eagle Bank, New Haven $ 6,000 

Virginia Land Company 8,000 

'Michigan Land Company 20,000 

Betliel Bank 40,000 

Midland Railroad 20,000 

Making a total of $94,000 



132 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



The above in round numbers. He is quite sure that there have been 
enough minor enterprises aided to swell the grand total to $100,000. 

Isaac Hilliard was a poet of considerable local celebrity whom Red- 
ding had the honor of producing, but at this late day I am able to collect 
but few facts and anecdotes concerning him, and most of these are 
gathered from the Federal journals, who were his traducers, owing to 
the fact that Mr. Hilliard, like a true poet, had espoused the cause of the 
people and was a Whig, The Nezu England Republican of August 29th, 
1804, has this to say concerning him : 

"Forlorn Hope. 

"Isaac Hilliard, a wretched vagabond, originally of Reading, in Fair- 
field County, has lately published a large pamphlet, in which he warmly 
advocates the cause of democracy. To criticise such a work, one must 
sink himself to a level with the author ; that is, he must become an idiots 
or a lunatic, or a brute. The composition is just about on a level witii 
Peter St. John's poetry. The pitiable but wrong-headed writer is now 
busied in hawking his pamphlets about the streets. He presents them to 
every man whom he is not afraid to insult, and tells those to whom he 
delivers them, to pay him twenty-five cents each, if they like the work; 
otherwise to return it. Never was a man better fitted to any cause than 
Hilliard to democracy ; and never was a cause better adapted to the man 
engaged in it than democracy to Hilliard." 

The pamphlet referred to above, entitled the "Rights of Suffrage," 
and also Mr. Hilliard's chief poem, "The Federal Pye," tihe writer has 
been so fortunate as to procure. They are included in a pamphlet of 
some seventy pages, printed at Danbury in 1804. 

A brief examination of the first-named work would force one to con- 
clude that, however brilliant a poet Mr. Hilliard may have been, he was 
not a master of prose. His nouns, adjectives, nominatives, and verbs are 
so commingled, that it is difficult to separate them ; but in his preface Mr. 
Hilliard observes that he has written for persons of limited education, 
and had not therefore adopted a lofty and flourishing style — Si fact which 
explains, perhaps, the somewhat ungrammatical construction of his sen- 
tences. An extract from his poem "The Federal Pye" we will submit 
for the criticism of the reader. At a Federal "caucus" one Holdfast, a 
Federalist, arises and opens the proceedings with the following speech : 

"Brethren, I know you see my tears, 
The strong expression of my fears. 
There's no one here that is a stranger — 
Then every one must know our danger. 
Poor people all begin to see 
Their rights are gone, they are not free ; 



I 



HISTORY OF REDDING. T -^ i 

Some wicked men espouse their cause, 
And say they're lost by cruel laws. 
They have found out, as sure as death. 
That they are taxed for their breatih. 
I am very sorry that our youth 
Should ever find out so much truth: 
The poor old men now make a noise 
And say we tax all their poor boys. 
Somehow or other, those poor souls 
Find other States don't tax their polls. 
They say 'tis cruel, and a sin 
To pay for breath which they breathe in — 
And now they all set up this note, 
If they pay taxes they will vote : 
They say they've found what we're about — 
We taxed their polls and left ours out. 
That faculties, and the poll tax 
They wish were under the French axe, 
Together with all those that like 'em, 
And let it have one chance to strike 'em. 
Why, they might just as well have said 
They Avished all Federal rulers dead. 
The poor will rise in every nation 
When they are drove to desperation." 
Etc., etc. 

Redding is now much sought after by invalids for its health-giving 
properties, but it has been occasionally visited by epidemics of a fearful 
character. Small-pox, before Dr. Jenner's discovery of inoculation, was 
a fearful scourge, and news of its appearance in town always excited the 
wildest apprehension. The roads near the infected spot were at once 
fenced up, and no one save the physician and nurse was permitted to 
have any communication with the stricken farnily. If the disease became 
epidemic, pest-houses were erected in secluded localities, whither the 
patients were removed. Those dying of this disease were placed in a 
rude cofifin, and buried at midnight, the clergyman standing at a safe 
distance and reading in a loud voice the service for the dead. An epi- 
demic called the "camp distemper" raged in the town in 1780 — the year 
succeeding the encampment here of Putnam's division. It seemis to have 
been of the same general character as the dysentery, but from the fact 
of its raging more violently in the neighborhood of the camps was called 
the camp distemper. 

A severer scourge was an epidemic that visited the town about 18 10, 
and which displayed many of the characteristics of Asiatic cholera. 



134 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Strong men were stricken down by it in a day, and there was scarcely a 
house where there was not mourning for the dead. In one school district 
alone, Lonetown, it is said that twenty died of tihis disease. The victims 
of this scourge were interred in the old cemetery near the Gongregational 
Church. They were buried hastily, at midnight, and the Rev. Nathaniel 
Bartlett, who officiated on the occasion, stood on the ledge a few yards 
south of the church and there read the burial service in tones so loud 
they were heard by residents on Umpawaug Hill, fully two miles distant. 
The legal document by which a slave was freed in 1806 is a rara avis 
in 1906, and reminds one that no longer than one hundred years ago our 
fathers here in Connecticut were slave owners. We copy it from the 
original now in possession of Miss Julia H. Sanford, of Redding : 

"To all people to whom these presents shall come, greeting: 

"Know ye, that whereas Pomp, a negro man, formerly a slave for 
life to our honored father Hez'h Sanford, late of Redding, deceased, the 
heirs of s'd Hez'h Sanford's estate verbally agreed that s'd Pomp sliould 
go free at the age of twenty-five years, provided that he conducted him- 
self well and was appraised and inventoried according to said time and 
set off to Aaron Sanford that term of time as part of his portion. S'd 
Pomp grows uneasy and says he wants a writing to show, and part of his 
time given off, and further says he will serve one year faithfully from 
the first day of this inst. April, 1806. Hence we, Aaron Sanford, Hez'h 
Sanford, and Wm. Sanford, three of the executors on the estate of Hezh. 
Sanford, late of Redding, deceased, agree and promise to set s'd Pomp 
free at the ist day of April, 1807, or when he, the s'd Pomp is of full age 
by law to be set free, on condition that the authority and selectmen will 
give a certificate or letter of emancipation, and set him free according 
to law. The condition further is that the s'd Pomp is to serve the s'd 
Aaron Sanford faithfully in his business of farming one year from the 
s'd I St day of April, 1806, that is, until the ist day of April, 1807, and 
try to be prudent, and take good care of his property, and not see it wasted 
or squandered away, and not to steal or take any of s'd Aaron Sanford's 
property for his, the s'd Pomp's use and benefit, and to behave himself 
well as a servant, and not to use any bad language. And the s'd Aaron 
Sanford is to give in the remainder of time to bring s'd Pomp to the age 
of twenty-five years, which will be four months and twenty days. 

"In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands, in Redding, the 
7th day of April, 1806. 

"Aaron Sanford, 
"Witness : ' Hezh. Sanford, 

"Aaron Morehouse, Wm, Sanford, 

Joseph Hawley, 
Lemuel Sanford." 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



135 



Another heirloom treasured by Miss Sanford and which we are per- 
mitted to copy is the "setting out" or marriage portion given by her grand- 
father, Andrew Lane Hill, to his daughter Hannah on her marriage to 
Isaac Beach, Sept. 26, 1797. Mr. Hill was a wealthy man for his day, 
and the list shows what was thought proper and necessary for a maid of 
quality at that time : 

£ s. d. 

2 cows valued at 9 o o 

Feather beds, bolsters and pillows at 13 15 o 

One 4 ft. cherry table at 2 o o 

One set of drawers at 10 o o 

One common dining table at 10 18 o 

One small round ditto (mahogany) 250 

One looking glass 6 6 o 

Six Windsor chairs, 3 1-6 2 ii o 

Six common kitchen do 1-6 170 

One red chest o 10 o 

By two brass kettles 2 18 5 

59 yards of furniture callico 600 

8 pr. sheets at 20 800 

8 ditto of pillow cases i 12 o 

14 towels, case of diaper, 15 yds i 10 o 

18 yards ditto, ditto in table linen i 16 

By sundries of crockery, bo't of Lemuel Sanford & 

Stephen Betts 2 2 i 

3 tin milk pans at 2-4 070 

6 table spoons at i o 6 o 

6 silver i 8 4 

By one brass skimmer o 3 6 

By two dishes o 2 4 

By two iron candlesticks 016 

By cash to buy crockery o 3 o 

By tin plate & other tinware o 5 11 

1798 p'd the blacksmith for boiling kettles, iron, etc. . i 8 o 

Iron pot & kettle 091 

Copper tea kettle 18-9 i 9 3 

Brass candlesticks, warming pan, 13-6, shovel & 

tongs, 12 I 5 6 

Brasses, &c., for drawers 136 

Brass andirons, 2 2-6, common ditto & gridiron.... 206 

Two trammels and 13 1-4 pewter at 1-9 132 

Block tin teapot 060 

Pare of small bellows o 3 o 

I bedquilt I 12 o 

3 bed carry (?) blankets 300 

1 coverlid i o o 

2 underbeds o 18 o 

Case of washed knives and forks i 11 10 

Two sets of china cups & saucers i 2 o 

One woman's riding saddle 6 o o 

One pr. sugar tongs 020 

One hair sieve 3 o 

By fulling iron by Marchand 060 

A cedar tub made by Seth Wheeler o 9 o 

A bedquilt 3 o o 

By a great spinning wheel o 10 o 

By a churn made by Seth Wheeler o 8 o 

Jan. by a flax stretcher o 8 o 

99 made by Marchant o 16 o 



136 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Nov. by a small 99 looking glass o 9 o 

Freight 9-1 p'd Henry Sturges for bringing the 

looking glass from New York 009 

An old account-book mildewed and mouldy, its leaves discolored by- 
time, and its writing half illegible from the same cause, may not be sup- 
posed to furnish very interesting reading ; yet if one will go through its 
pages carefully, he may cull much that is both instructive and entertain- 
ing. 

A book of this character, 130 years old, the daybook and ledger of a 
former merchant of the town, furnishes the follov/ing extracts : 

Jan. 24, 1751. Jeavis Hull, Dr. 

£ s. d. 

To I ink horn 3/6, reckning 3/ o 6 6 

July 2. To 2 qts. rum 16/6, i do. 11/6 i 7 o 

" 13. To 2 qts. rum 22/, the sugar 6 /, rubston 2^/6 i 11 6 

" 22. To 2 qts. rum 22/ i 2 o 

Sept. 24. To 2 hanks bar. 8/ rum, 2/6. 10 6 

Dec. 3. To I ax 55/, i pint rum 2/6 310 

1752. To licker 4/p, licker 1/6 o 6 3 

1750. Daniel Gould, Dr. 

£ s. d. 

Dec. 2. To making clock o 9 O 

1751. To punch 2/ 2 O 

May 16. To 17'^ buckram 16/, 24** woding 16/ i 12 o 

Aug. 22. To punch 6/^ rum 2/6 o 8 8 

Sept. II. To I qt. wine 12/ o 12 o 

There is also credited to Mr. Gould: 

I cow waid 389 lb., @ 1/9 25 18 8 

Robert Seeley, Dr. 
July 3, 1753. To Testament 25/, 2 trays 12/, 
Oct. 22. To 2 lb. nails 14/, i comb 14/, 
To parshon 15/, to 10 lbs. hogs fat 20/, 
To I brom 6/, to bunit paper 3/, silk 6/. 

Other entries at this period are: 

I gal. molasses at 19/, % bush, salt 17/, almonek 1/9, Philip 6/, i pail 12/, I 
skimmer 2/('^y i basket 9/, 14 yds. Calocho 13/9, i tray of pins 4/, 2 lbs. brimestone 
12/, To paid the pedler 34/, to sundrys training day 25/6, i cake soap 8/, by 3 dear 
skins £28, OS. od., 4 bbls. £3, % bush, ots 8/, i doz. butins 6/, To poundeg. of sheep 
8/, I hogshed 80/, i hankerchief 25/, 6 pipes 2/6, To writing note_2/, i sickle 23/, 
% bl. powder 11/, i botle 3/, 8 sqr. glass 40/, 90 lbs. pork £9, los. 9d., i pr. cards 
45 /, I lb. Tobacco 4/, 17 bush, rj'e in Boolston cleaned £11, 12s. 9d., i oz. Indigo 
15/, To charge of writ 16/, 2 qts. Methegling 20/, i beaver hat £13, i caster hat 
£i, I frying pan 78/, V2 lb. allam 4/, i Spanish dollar 64/, i pr. gloves 23/, i cart- 
whip 5/, I pr. nee-buckles 6/6, 4 lb. 11 oz. Tobacco 20/10, 3%; lbs. hay sead 54/6, I 
pr. cart wheels £7, los., i grindston 50/, i lb. shot 3/6, 2 vinegar cruses 20/, i 
mustard pot lo/, ^ quire paper 7/, i lb. lead 4/, poundeg of 14 hogs 39/4. 2 qt. 
basons 42/, By poundeg of Barlow's hors 8/, 6 tacks 1/6, To interest, and fall of 
money 6/, flints 3/, 2 doz. pewter buttons 7/, 35 bush, wheat in Boston cleaned 
£55, i8s., 3d., I bbl. pork in Boston £20, i hat band 2/. 

This list might be extended indefinitely, but enough has been given 
to show the prices of articles in general use at that day. 



I 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



137 



A Lodge of Free Masons was once in active operation on Redding 
Ridge, as is shown by the following extract from the records of the Grand 
Lodge : 

"Oct. 19th, 1796. A petition from sundry Free-masons residing in 
the towns of Redding and Weston, was presented to the Grand Lodge 
of Free-masons then in session at New Haven, praying to be formed into 
a new Lodge, which petition was laid over until the next session of the 
Grand Lodge. At the next session of the Grand Lodge of F. &: A. M. 
held at New Haven on the 17th May, 1797, the prayer of the petitioners 
was granted, and a Lodge formed under the name of Ark Lodge No. 39, 
F. 81 A. M. and William Heron was appointed Master." 

At the October session 1804, of the Grand Lodge, Lemuel Sanford 
represented Ark Lodge, also at the May Session 1808, the October ses- 
sion 1808, and the May Session, 1813. 

In 1823, a Lodge was built by the Members of Ark Lodge No. 39, on 
Redding Ridge. This Lodge continued its labors until May 12th, 1839, 
when it surrendered its charter to the Grand Lodge. 

On the 23d of December, 1869, the charter was again taken up by the 
following members : David H. Miller, Chas. A. Jennings, Chas. H. Can- 
field, Lewis Northrop, Chas. O. Olmsted, David E. Smith, H. R. Osborn, 
E. Thompson, Aaron H. Davis, Luzon Jelliff, Seth P. Beers and Water- 
man Bates, and is still working, its present Lodge Room being situated 
in Georgetown. 

A Lodge of Odd Fellows succeeded that of the Free Masons on Red- 
ding Ridge, but only continued in active operation for a few years. 

One of the earliest antislavery societies in the State was organized 
in Georgetown, in December, 1838. Dr. Erasmus Hudson and Rev. 
Nathaniel Colver were appointed by the Connecticut Anti-slavery Society 
agents for the evangelization of the State, and in October, 1838, entered 
Fairfield County in the furtherance of their mission. They lectured at 
Sherman, Danbury, Redding, Georgetown, and Norwalk, being driven 
from each place in succession by mobs who abuse'd and threatened, and 
in some cases stoned them. At Norwalk they were burnt in effigy, and 
assailed with brickbats and all manner of missiles. At Weston they or- 
ganized the first society in the county. In November a call was issued 
for a convention to be held in Redding^ (Georgetown), December 12th, 
1838. On the 29th November, Messrs. Colver and Hudson went to 
Georgetown to hold meetings. They met on Monday night in the Bap- 
tist church, but the mob was so violent that the meeting was adjourned 
until Tuesday evening. All through Tuesday there was great commo- 
tion among the enemies of the cause, and this culminated in the evening, 
when a mob composed of men and boys, some with painted faces and 
some wearing masks, surrounded the church, and assailed it with stones, 



I'^g HISTORY OF REDDING. 

clubs, and hideous outcries. Being dispersed by the citizens the band 
betook itself to quieter forms of miscRief. Dr. Hudson drove to the 
meeting a beautiful milk-white horse, and on that night his tail was 
sheared so closely that it resembled a corn-cob ; and other outrages were 
committed. At this meeting a society was organized, called the George- 
town Anti-slavery Society. Tlie constitution of this society bears date 
December 4th, 1838; its officers were: President, Eben Hill; Secretary, 
William Wakeman ; Treasurer, John O. St. John. 

From the lofty ridges which form a distinguishing feature of our 
landscape, fine views of the Sound, the shipping, and of a pleasant coun- 
try of farms may be obtained. The "Glen" in the valley of the Saugatuck 
is widely famed for its beautiful and picturesque scenery. The valley 
of the Aspetuck, in the eastern part of the town, also offers many attrac- 
tions to the tourist. Little River, in the upper part of its course, flows 
through a wild and picturesque region and is a famous trout stream. 
Gallows Hill, in the western part of the town, near Redding Station, was 
the scene of the execution of a spy and a deserter in the war of the Rev- 
olution. 



CHAPTER XVllL 

Redding in the Civil War. 

The news flashed over the Vv'ires in 1861 that the flag had been fired 
upon at Sumter, and that war was imminent, was received by the citi- 
zens of Redding with the same courage and decision that had been dis- 
played by their ancestors at the opening of the Revolution, nearly a hun- 
dred years before. The old flag had been dishonored, and the Union, the 
inalienable birthright bequeathed by the fathers, had been declared to be 
at an end. 

It was felt to be a time for action, for the burying of party differences,, 
and for uniting in support of the measures which were at once adopted 
for overcoming the threatened evil. Public meetings were h'eld, at wliich 
sentiments of the purest patriotism were expressed, and volunteers hast- 
ened to enroll themselves for the defence of the flag. These acts of loy- 
alty were supplemented by certain practical measures adopted at special 
town meetings, and which can be best exhibited by extracts from the 
town records of the period. On the 23d of April, ten days after Sumter 
fell, the following "Notice" was issued: 

"The legal voters of the town of Redding are hereby notified and 
warned to attend a special town meeting to be held at the Town House 




Photo by Miss Sarah Marlettc Tabnagc. 

THE SAUGATUCK VALLFA' FROAF PINNACLE ROCK. OX THE 
¥\RM OF G. A. TALMAGE. 
The river escaping from the cleliles of The Glen here flows through smil- 
ing meadows to hi compressed a mile l>elovv in the grim jaws of the Devil's 
Mouth. 




Photo by (". B. ToUi. 
Till'. Gl.FX XI". AR XOBR CROOK. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



139 



in said Town on Monday Apr. 29, 1861, at 2 o'clock p. m., to consider 
the expediency of appropriating funds to defray the expenses of the fam- 
ilies of those who enlist in the service of the U. S. army under the present, 
call of the President for troops. 

"John Edmond, 
Burr Meeker, 
Francis A. Sanford, 

Selectmen of Redding. 
"Redding, April 23, 1861." 

"At a special Town Meeting legally warned and held in Redding on 
the 29th day of April, 1861, Walker Bates, Esq., chosen Moderator. 

"Voted, unanimously, that an appropriation be made from the treasury 
of the Town, for the families of those who have enlisted, or may enlist 
from the town in the service of the U. S. Government under the present 
call of the President for troops, the same being a call for 75,000 volun- 
teers for the space of tihree months. 

"Voted, unanimously, that such appropriation be as follows, to wit^ 
three dollars per week for each of the wives, and one dollar per week for 
each of the children of the several persons enlisting as aforesaid, during 
the time of service of such person under said call. 

"Voted, that a committee of three be appointed for each grand divi- 
sion of the town, to disburse the foregoing appropriation — such commit- 
tee to receive no pecuniary compensation for their services. Sturges Ben- 
nett, Thaddeus M. Abbott, and James Sanford chosen such disbursing 
committee. 

''Voted, that the selectmen be instructed to draw orders on the Treas- 
urer of the Town on application of either of the foregoing named com- 
mittee, in favor of such as are entitled to an appropriation as aforesaid,, 
under the foregoing vote. 

"Voted, that the selectmen be in'struoted to call a special town meeting 
as soon as practicable, for the purpose of making an appropriation for 
those who enlist from this town in the service of the U. S. Government. 

"The above and foregoing is a true record. 

"Attest, Lemuel Sanford, 

"Tozvn Clerk" 

A call for additional troops was issued by the President early in the 
summer of 1862, and a draft to fill it seemed imminent. Under these 
circumstances a special town meeting was held July 26th, 1862, at which 
it was voted, "that the selectmen be a committee to correspond with the 
Adjutant-General, to ascertain whether if the town fumislhed its quota 



140 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

under the recent call for additional troops, it would exempt the town 
from a draft under said call," and the meeting was adjourned to July 
31st, 1862, to await the action of the Adjutant-General. His answer 
being in the affirmative, the meeting on reassembling, July 31st, passed 
this resolution: "Resolved, That a bounty of fifty dollars be offered to 
every volunteer from this town, who shall enlist into tihe service of the 
United States between the present time and the 20th of August next, 
under tlie present call for additional troops, such bounty to be paid to 
each volunteer enlisting as aforesaid, on certificate of his acceptance from 
the proper authority when presented to the selectmen." A subsequent 
meeting held August 23d extended the time in which the bounty would 
be paid to September ist. Sej^tember ist, a meeting was held for the 
equalization of bounties, and the bounty of $50 was voted to all who 
had enlisted prior to the vote of July 31st, 1862, as well as to all who 
should enlist hereafter, except those enlisting under the first call of tlie 
President for troops. 

The selectmen were also authorized "to borrow sudli sum of money 
as might be needed to carry out suc'h vote. Mr. John Edmond was also 
appointed an agent for the town to ascertain the full number of those 
who had enlisted from the town. Six days after, September 6th, another 
town meeting was held and voted an additional bounty of $50 to all who 
had previously enlisted (except under the first call), and an additional 
bounty of $100 to all who should thereafter "volunteer to fill up the quota 
under the present call," thus making the bounty paid each volunteer $200. 
Throughout the war the town was anxious to avoid a draft, and made 
strenuous efforts to fill its quota by volunteering. July 13th, 1863, when 
a fourth call for troops was daily expected, a town meeting was held, 
and the selectmen authorized to draw from the treasury of the town and 
pay over as a bounty "to each person who shall or may be drafted under 
the next call of the United States Government for troops, and who shall 
not be able to get excused for physical inability, or any other cause, the 
sum of $300, or such less sum as the Secretary of War shall fix upon 
for the procuration of a substitute" ; and George Osborn, David S. Jolm- 
son, and Daniel Rider were appointed a committee to procure recruits. 
Substantially the same plan was pursued by the town for filling its quota 
under the various calls of the Presiden't for troop's, and so successfully, 
that no draft ever occurred within her limits. The sum total of the war 
expenses of the town is variously estimated at from twenty-two to twenty- 
five thousand dollars. 

The war record of Redding, so far as it relates to the number of men 
furnis'hed the General Government, is, it is believed, exceeded by but few 
towns in the State. From official returns in the Adjutant-General's of- 
fice, it appears that Redding furnished one hundred and eight men to the 
land forces of the United States — more than one-fifteentb of the entire 




riintii by Miss Sarah Marlctt : Taliiiai^c 
ROCK GORGE, LI TlLl-: RIVER, SAXFORDTOWX. 




A RlvDDING ['ASTORAL. 



/'//o/o />y C\ />. I'odd. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 14! 

population of the town, and fully one-tliird of all its able-bodied male 
inhabitants. To tliis number must be added many of her sons who en- 
listed in other towns and States. The names of these one hundred and 
eight soldiers constitute a roll of honor whose lustre time will not dim, 
but brighten, and which all good citizens will be glad to see preserved in 
this enduring form. They are given with as full details as can be gath- 
ered from the somewhat meagre returns in the Adjutant-General's office. 

SECOND REGIMENT (arTILLERY). 

1. Andrew H. Sanford, volunteered Jan, 5, 1864, was taken sick 
through fatigue and exposure while in Virginia, and died in hospital in 
Philadelphia, June 5, 1864. 

2. Morris H. Sanford, volunteered July 21, 1862 ; was made 2d Lieu- 
tenant, Co. C; promoted to be ist Lieutenant Aug. i, 1863. Again pro- 
moted to be Captain. Was wounded in the shoulder at the battle of 
Fisher's Creek. 

THIRD REGIMENT (THREE MONTHS). MUSTERED IN MAY I4, 1861. 

3. George W. Gould, Co. G. Honorably discharged Aug. 12, 1861.. 

FIFTH REGIMENT. MUSTERED IN JULY 12, 1861. 

4. John H. Bennett, Company A. Transferred to Invalid Corps 
Sept. I, 1863. 

5. Rufus Mead, Jr., Co. A. Re-enlisted as a veteran Dec. 21, 1863. 

6. Hezekiah Sturges, Co. A. Died Oct. 14, 1861, and is buried in 
the Hull Cemetery, Sanfordtown. 

7. Arthur M. Thorp, Co. A. Transferred to the Invalid Corps 
Sept. I, 1863. 

8. Benjamin F. Squires, Co. A. Served three years, and was hon- 
orably discharged. 

SIXTH REGIMENT. MUSTERED IN OCTOBER 28, 1863. 

9. John Foster, Co. B. 

10. Francis De Four, Co. C. 

11. John Murphy, Co. G. 

SEVENTH REGIMENT. MUSTERED IN SEPTEMBER 5, 1861. 

12. Andrew B. Nichols, Co. D. Re-enlisted as a veteran. Killed 
at the battle of Drury's Bluff, Va., May i6, 1864. 

13. Oscar Byington, Co. D. 

14. William Nichols, Co. D. Discharged for disability Jan. 3, 1863. 

15. George W. Peck, Co. I. Enlisted in United States Army Nov. 
4, 1862. 



142 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

16. Henry Clark, Co. I, recruit. Enlisted Oct. 30, 1863. 

17. Jerome Dufoy, recruit. Enlisted Nov. 6, 1863. Killed at Olus- 
■tee, Fla., Feb. 20, 1864. 

18. Emil Durand, recruit. Enlis'ted Nov. 2, 1863. 

19. H. R. Chamberlain, recruit. Enlisted Nov. 4, 1863. 

20. 'Henry D. Harris, recruit. Enlisted Oct. 29, 1863. 

21. Peter Hill, recruit. Enlisted Oct. 31, 1863. Transferred to U. 
S. Navy Apr. 28, 1864. 

22. Robert Hocli, recruit. Enlisted Nov. 3, 1863. 

23. John Miller, recruit. Enlisted Nov. 4, 1863. 

24. John H. Thomas, recruit. Enlisted Nov. 3, 1863. 

25. Antoine Vallori, recruit. Enlisted Oct. 29, 1863. 

26. William Wilson, recruit. Enlisted Nov. 6, 1863. 

2y. William Watson, recruit. Enlisted Nov. 2, 1863. Transferred 
to U. S. Navy Apr. 28, 1864. 

EIGHTH REGIMENT. MUSTERED IN SEPT. 25, 1861. 

28. Aaron A. Byington, Corporal, Co. H. 

29. Lewis Bedient, Co. H. 

30. Thomas Bigelow, Co. H. Re-enlisted as a veteran Dec. 24, 1863. 

31. William Hamilton, Co. H. Re-enlisted as a veteran Dec. 24, 
1863. 

32. William H. Nichols, Co. H. Re-enHsted Jan, 5, 1864. 

33. Franklin Paine, Co. I. Died March 8, 1862. 

34. Albert Woodrufif, Co. I. Discharged for disability May 11, 1862. 

35. Charles M. Piatt, recruit. Enlisted Feb. 24, 1864. 

NINTH REGIMENT. 

36. Michael Dillon, recruit. Enlisted Feb. 17, 1864. 

TENTH REGIMENT. MUSTERED IN SEPT. 21, 1861. 

37. Francis H. Grumman, Co. D. Died Apr. i, 1864. 

ELEVENTH REGIMENT. MUSTERED IN OCT. 24, 1861. 

38. Nathan Cornwall, Sergeant, Co. A. Re-en'listed Jan. i, 1864, 
and promoted to First Lieutenant. A prisoner at Andersonville. 

39. Samuel B. Baxter, Co. A. Discharged for disability Dec. 4, 
1862! 

40. Charles O. Morgan, Co. A. Wounded by the fragment of a 
shell, and discharged for disability June 3, 1864. 

41. George Sherman, Co. K, recruit. Enlisted Feb. 16, 1864. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



143 



TWELFTH REGIMENT. DATE OF MUSTER FROM NOV. 20, 1861, TO JAN. I, 

1862. 

42. George Green, Co. B. Died June ii, 1863, of wounds received 
at Port Hudson. 

FOURTEENTH REGIMENT. 

43. George Lover, Co. A. Mustered in June 16, 1862. 

44. Wesley Banks, Co. E. Mustered in Oct. i, 1863. Died Feb. 12, 
1864, of wounds received at Morton's Ford, Va. 

SEVENTEENTH REGIMENT. DATE OF MUSTER FROM JULY I4 TO AUG. I4, 

1862. 

45. Waterman Bates, Co. A. Discharged for disability Dec. i8, 1863. 

46. Edmund Treadwell, Co. D. Taken prisoner in Florida. 

47. George W. Banks, Sergeant, Co. G. Discharged Sept. 15, 1862. 

48. David S. Bartram. Enlisted as a private in Co. G, Aug. 16, 

1862. Promoted to 2d Lieutenant May 8, 1863. Participated in the bat- 
tle of Chancellorsville ; and was taken prisoner at Gettysburg, July 3, 

1863. Was an inmate of rebel prisons for twenty-two months, experi- 
encing in succession the horrors of the Libby Prison at Richmond, and 
of the prison pens at Danville, Macon, Savannah, Charleston, Columbia, 
and Goldsboro. He was paroled March i, 1865, near Wilmington, N. 
C, and succeeded in reaching the Union lines at the latter place. 

49. Morris Jennings, Co. G. Discharged for disability March 26, 
1863. 

50. James M. Burr, Co. G. Discharged for disability March 9, 1863. 

51. Martin Costello, Co. G. Taken prisoner. 

52. Andrew D. Couch, Co. G. Killed at Chancellorsville May 2, 
1863. 

53. John W. DeForrest, Co. G. Discharged for disability Apr. 4, 
1863. 

54. Edmund Godfrey, Co. G. Discharged for disability March 9, 
1863. 

55. George Hull, Co. G. 

56. Burr Lockwood, Co. G. 

57. John Lockwood, Co. G. 

58. Aaron Peck, Co. G. 

59. John M. Sherman, Co. G. . Discharged for disability Dec. 10, 
1862. 

60. George Whalen, Co. G. 



144 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT. DATE OF MUSTER FROM AUG. 1 5 TO SEPT. 20, 

1862. 

61. David H. Miller, Major of the regiment. Discharged Aug. 31, 
1863. 

62. Obadiah R. Coleman, Co. D. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

63. Charles A. Gregory. Discharged same date. 

64. George W. Gould, Corporal, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

65. Azariah E. Meeker, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

66. Frederic D. Chapman, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31. 1863. 

67. Henry H. Lee, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

68. Charles Albin, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

69. Edward Banks, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

70. Henry W. Bates, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1B63. 

71. Charles H. Bates, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

72. Smith Bates, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

73. Lemuel B. Benedict, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

74. Peter W. Birdsall, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

75. William F. Brown, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 
']6. Henry F. Burr, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 
yy. Martin V. B. Burr, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

78. Aaron Burr, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

79. Ammi Carter, Co E. Died Aug. 12, 1863. 

80. William Coley, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

81. Cyrus B. Eastford, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

82. William Fanton, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

83. Charles A. Field, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863: 

84. Samuel S. Gray, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

85. James F. Jelliff, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

86. Charles Lockwood, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

87. Elihu Osborne, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

88. John Osborne, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

89. Henry Parsons, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

90. Henry Piatt, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

91. Sanford J. Piatt, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

92. James J. Ryder, Co. E. Discharged Aug 31, 1863. 

93. George E. Smith, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

94. Anton Stommel, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

95. Jacob B. St. John, Co. E. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

96. Ralph S. Meade, Co. G. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

97. Henry Wheelock, Co. G. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

98. George S. Tarbell, Co. G. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

99. Almon S. Merwin, Co. G. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 

100. L>Tnan Whitehead, Co. K. Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 



HISTORY OF REDDING 



loi. Seth P. Bates, Sergeant, Co. E. 
Discharged Aug. 31, 1863. 



H5 
Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. 

MUSTERED IN MARCH 8, 1864. 



TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT ( COLORED). 

102. John H. Hall, Co, A. 

103. John M. Coley, Co. E. 

104. Theodore Nelson, Co. E. Died Apr. 6, 1864. 

105. Lafayette S. Williams, Co. E. 

106. Edward Voorhies, Co. E. 

107. Joseph F. Butler, Corp., Co. G. 

108. Henry B. Pease, Co. G. 

109. Cato Johnson, Co. G. 

On February 4, 1862, a meeting was held in Georgetown for the pur- 
pose of electing officers for Co. E, 8th Regt., 2d Brigade, Conn. State 
Militia, the Company being known as Co. E, National Guard. 



David H. Miller 
Hiram St. John 
Geo. M. Godfrey 
John N. Main 
Jas. Corcoran 
Lewis Northrop 
David S. Bartram 
Aaron O. Scribner 
Wm. D. Gilbert 
Aaron H. Davis 
Alonzo Dickson 
Jerem'h R. Miller 
Edw'd Thompson 
Seth P. Bates 
Geo. W. Gould 
Albert D. Sturges 



elected Captain Redding. 



1st 

2d 

1st 

2d 

3d 
4th 
5th 
1st 

2d 

3d 

4th 

5th 

6th 

7th 

8th 



PRIVATES. 



Lieut Wilton. 

Lieut Wilton. 

Sergt Redding. 

" Wilton. 

" Weston. 

" Redding. 

" Wilton. 

Corpl Redding. 

Wilton. 



. Redding. 



• Wilton. 



John W. Mead Ridgefield. 

Moses Comstock Wilton. 

James Lobdell " 

James F. Jelliff Weston. 

Hezekiah B. Osborn Redding. 

Joseph R. Lockwood Wilton 

Henry Parsons Redding. 

Wm. H. Canfield " 

Minot S. Patrick " 

Charles A. Jennings Wilton. 

Edwin Gilbert Redding. 

Df.vid E. Smith " 

Hiram Cobleigh 

Samuel A. Main 

Anton Stommel 

George L. Dann Wilton. 

Jonathan Betts Weston. 

Charles Olmsted Wilton. 

Charles Albin Redding. 

Fred D. Chapman 

Henry Hohman , 

Wm.'B. Smith " 



146 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Wm. E. Brothwell Wilton. 

Azariah E. Meeker Redding. 

Charles S. Gregory 

Charles S. Meeker " 

Charles H. Downs 

Wm. Coley " 

Lorenzo Jones 

Henry F. Burr 

Obadiah P. Coleman 

Charles H. Canlield 

John L. Godfrey Wilton. 

Sylvester Albin Redding. 

The company uniformed itself and drilled until August, 1862. When 
Grovernor Buckingham called for troops to serve for nine months, the 
entire command volunteered its services, and was accepted. The com- 
pany was immediately recruited up to 108 men, and reported for duty 
at Camp Terry, New Haven, where it was mustered into the U. S. ser- 
vice as Co. E, 23d Regt. Conn. Vols. On the formation of the 23d 
Regt., Capt. Miller was promoted to be Major of the regiment. Geo. M. 
Godfrey was elected Captain of Co. E, to fill the vacancy caused by the 
promotion of Capt. Miller; and John N. Main promoted to 2d Lieuten- 
ant, to fill the vacancy caused by the promotion of Lieut. Godfrey. 

The company was sent with the regiment from New Haven to Camp 
Buckingham, on Long Island, and from thence by steamer Che Kiang 
to New Orleans, where it was embodied in the 19th Army Corps, under 
Gen. Banks. It was engaged at Lafourche Crossing, La., on June 21, 
1863, with a superior force, but came out victorious. 

The Company was "mustered out" at New Haven, Sept. 3, 1863, after 
a service of nearly thirteen months. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Biographical. 

JOEL BARLOW. 

Joel Barlow, the poet and statesman, was born in Redding, March 
24th, 1754. He received his early education first from the Rev. Mr. 
Bartlett, pastor of the Congregational church in Redding, and second at 
Moor's preparatory school for boys, near Hanover, N. H. He entered 
Dartmouth College in 1774, at the age of twenty, and shortly after re- 
moved to New Haven and was entered at Yale. His college course was 
a highly creditable one in many respects. During the college terms he 
was a faithful student, especially winning distinction for literary attain- 
ments ; and during the long summer vacations he joined the Continental 



1 




BISHOP THO^fAS F. DAVIKS. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



147 



army as a volunteer, and aided in fighting the battles of his country. He 
graduated in 1778. From 1779 to 1783, he was chaplain of one of the 
Connecticut regiments in the Revolutionary army. Shortly after leav- 
ing the army in 1783, he married Miss Ruth Baldwin, daughter of 
Michael Baldwin, Esq., of New Haven, and in 1785 settled as a lawyer 
in Hartford, Conn. In Hartford Mr. Barlow appears as lawyer, journal- 
ist (editor of the American Mercury), bookseller, and poet. In the latter 
capacity he produced a revision of Dr. Watts's "Imitation" of the 
Psalms, and also, in 1787, his famous poem, "The Vision of Columbus." 
In 1789 he accepted from 'the Scioto Land Company the position of 
foreign agent for the sale of their lands in Europe, and went to England 
and later to France for this purpose ; but shortly after his arrival the 
company made a disgraceful failure, and he was again thrown on his 
own resources. Fortunately, his literary reputation had made him quite 
a lion in the French capital, and he easily succeeded in obtaining work 
on the French journals. Later he embarked in some mercantile ven- 
tures, which proved successful and brought him a competence. He at 
first participated actively in the French Revolution, which broke out 
soon after his arrival in France, but becoming disgusted with the atro- 
cities of the Jacobins, he withdrew and went over to England. In Lon- 
don, in 1791, he published his "Advice to the Privileged Orders," a work 
which drew out a formal eulogium from Fox in the House of Commons. 
This was succeeded in 1792 by his "Conspiracy of Kings," a poem so 
bitterly hostile to royalty, that he found it prudent to leave England for 
France immediately on its publication. On his return to France, at this 
time, the privileges of French citizenship were conferred on him, only 
before accorded to but two Americans, Washington and Hamilton. In 
1793 he accompanied Gregorie, former Bishop of Blois, and other digni- 
taries to Savoy, and aided in organizing that country into a department 
of the Republic. While here he wrote his "Hasty Pudding," the mock- 
heroic, half-didactic poem, which has chiefly endeared him to his coun- 
trymen. In 1795 President Washington appointed him consul to Algiers, 
with instructions to ratify the long pending treaty with the Dey, and to 
liberate the American prisoners there. Colonel Humphreys, American 
Minister to Portugal, an old friend of Mr. Barlow, himself came to 
Paris to urge him to accept ; and proving successful, the two friends left 
Paris on the 12th of September, 1795, for Lisbon. From Lisbon Mr. 
Barlow proceeded to Algiers via Alicant, and after a year and a half of 
effort, succeeded in ratifying the treaty and in liberating the captives. 
He then returned to France. During the succeeding eight years he re- 
sided in an elegant villa near Paris, formerly the property of the Count 
Clermont Tonnere, enjoying the friendship of the chief men of the na- 
tion, as well as that of all Americans of eminence who visited the capital. 



148 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



But in 1805 the desire to once more revisit the land he had left seven- 
teen years before, became too strong to be resisted longer, and disposing 
of his estates in France, he returned in July of this year to America. He 
was warmly received in his native land, and after an extensive tour, ex- 
tending into the western country, he returned to Washington, where he 
built an elegant mansion called Kalorama, and which was widely famed 
in its day for its beauty and elegance, and as being the resort of all the 
famous men of the times. At Kalorama, Barlow gave his chief atten- 
tion to the cultivation of the Muses, and to philosophical studies. Here, 
in 1808, he finished his poem, "The Columbiad," which was printed at 
Philadelphia, and was one of the most elegant volumes ever issued from 
the American press. He also busied himself with collecting materials 
for a general history of the United States. In 1811 President Madison 
offered him the responsible position of Minister to France, in the hope 
that his reputation and his influence with tlie French Government might 
secure for us a treaty giving indemnity for past spoliations on our com- 
merce and security from further depredations. Barlow accepted the 
position from motives of the purest patriotism, in the belief that his 
talents and position might be made useful to his country. He sailed from 
Annapolis in July, 18 11, in the historic frigate Constitution, Captain 
Hull, which had been placed at his disposal by the Government. His 
negotiations with Napoleon, while on this mission, were conducted 
through the Duke de Bassano, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and covered 
a space of nearly a year and a half. Napoleon acknowledged the justice 
of the claims of the United States, and expressed a willingness to ratify 
a treaty of indemnity ; but he was so absorbed in directing the campaign 
against Russia, and in his other operations on the European field, that it 
was very difficult to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion. 

At length, on the 25th of October, 1812, Mr. Barlow received a letter 
from the Duke de Bassano, written at Wilna, Poland, saying that the 
emperor had deputed the business of the treaty to him, and that if Mr. 
Barlow would come to Wilna, he had no doubt but that the treaty might 
be speedily ratified. Barlow, on receipt of the note, at once set out, and 
travelling night and day, reached Wilna about the first of December, 
only to find the village filled with fugitives from Napoleon's retreating 
army, while Bassano was far out on the frontier hurrying forward rein- 
forcements to cover his Emperor's retreat. Disappointed, Barlow left 
Wilna and set out on his return to Paris, but was overwhelmed by the 
debris of the army, an'3 suffered all the horrors and privations of that 
terrible retreat. At his age he was unable to endure the ordeal, and at 
Zarniwica, an obscure village in Polanid, he was seized with an acute 
attack of pneumonia, which in a few days terminated his life, December 
26th, 1812. His nephew, Thomas Barlow, who accompanied him as 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



J 49 



secretary, provided; a hasty Burial in tlie village cemetery and then con- 
tinued his flight. There, so far as is known, his remains still rest, 
wholly forgotten by an ungrateful country. Some years ago an effort 
was made to have his ashes removed to his native land, and a bill, ap- 
propriating money for that purpose, passed the Senate, but was stifled 
in conference. There were few men even in that heroic age who did 
deeds more worthy of grateful recognition by the American people. ( For 
a fuller account, see Life and Letters of Joel Barlow, by Charles B. 
Todd, New York, 1886.) 

COL. AARON BARLOW. 

Colonel Aaron Barlow, uncle of the preceding, was a tried and trusted 
officer of the Revolution and the personal friend of Gen. Israel Putnam. 
He built the large colonial house on the corner in West Redding now 
owned by Mr. J. L. Blackman (see engraving), which, with its great 
double stone chimneys and long roof nearly reaching the ground in the 
rear, quite fills one's ideal of the old Colonial dwelling. In its long 
kitchen, tradition says, while the army lay in Redding, "Old Put." and 
its owner often sat far into the night with a pitcher of mulled cider be- 
tween them, fighting their battles of the French and Indian wars o'er 
again or discussing affairs of the country. A copy of the diary kept by 
Colonel Barlow during the gallant expedition of Generals Schuyler and 
Montgomery in the fall of 1775 for the capture of INlontreal and Quebec 
and the ultimate conquest of Canada, is in the writer's possession. 

At the time of this expedition he was "second sergeant of the Tenth 
Company in the Fifth Regiment of Connecticut Troops, commanded by 
Colonel David Waterbury, Jr., Esq.," as his commission states. This 
regiment was part of the quota of thirty thousand men raised in New 
England in the summer of 1775 to aid in the siege of Boston, and to take 
part, with the New York troops, in the expedition against Canada. 
Barlow's company, commanded by Captain Zalmon Read, was recurited 
largely in Redding, and marched from that town to Norwalk, June 2, 
1775, and the next day to Stamford, where it joined the regiment: 

June 10 we marched to Greenwich ; June 12 we marched to King street and 
had a general review. The same day we marched to Greenwich. June 26 we 
marched to New Rochelle. June 27 we marched to Harlem. June 28 marched 
to Bowery Lane near New York. June 29 marched to our encampment two miles 
northwest of New York City and pitched our tents. July 19 we struck our tents 
and marched to Harlem and pitched our tents. July 26 we struck our tents and 
embarked on board for Albany. 

At this point the young soldier's diary begins, and, as affording in- 
teresting glimpses of the minutiae of the march, as well as of the daily 
life of the Continental soldier, is worth transcribing in full : 



I 



I t-Q HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Harlem, July 25. — Col. Waterbury with his company, Captain Mead and Cap- 
tain Smith set sail for Albany. The other seven companies is received orders tc 
sail to morrow. About 10 of the clock I set out for home expecting to meet th^ 
Regiment at Albany. Being very poorly with much difficulty I reached home thal^ 
night about 10 of the clock. I remained very poorly and stayed at home 21 days. 

Redding, Aug. 16. — I set out to join the regiment, but where I know not, in 
company with Sergeant Joseph Rockwell about 12 of the clock. My left foot grew 
so lame that I could hear no weight in the stirrup. We rode as far as David Bar- 
low's in New Fairfield; there we took dinner. In the afternoon we rode as far as 
Dover and put up at one French's Tavern. 

Dover, Aug. 17. — 'We went on our journey and came about twelve of the clock 
to Ur.cle Israel White's at Sharon. There I dined with them. Sergeant Rockwell 

went to his father, Wood's being nighest neighbor. There we tarried with our 
friends till next morning. 

Sharon, Aug. 18. — About 9 o'clock we set out on our journey for our intended 
place ; we had not rode above 2 or 3 miles before a pain came in -my right knee ; at 
the same time the pain in my left foot quite left me. About 12 of the clock we 
stopped in the south west corner of Shuflfer and took dinner. My knee continued 
growing worse and worse very fast. I being loth to lose company with much diffi- 
culty got on my horse again. We rode about six miles and my knee grew so bad I 
thought I could ride no farther and put up to a tavern; here anointed my knee with 
Rattle snake's grease and tarryed about two hours : my knee very much swelled and 
so lame I cannot go one step, nor raise my weight. Sergt. Rockwell being a mind 
to go forward, with some trouble I got on my horse again. We rode this night as 
far as Nobletown, where we put up. I was in great distress and pain after I came 
into the house. There happened in a neighbor and I got him to ride my horse for 
the Doctor. He came a'bout 10 of the clock in the evening, rubbed my knee and 
gave me some drops. 

Nobletown, Aug. 19. — I got up about sun rise feeling poorly and very lame. 
We got breakfast and Sergt. Rockwell .being a mind to go forward and I loth to 
lose company concluded to go forward. The Doctor Bleeded me and bathed my 
knee a long time, and gave me a vial of his ointment and a vial of his drops. About 
9 of the clock we set out for Albany and rode about 7 miles into the edge of Clav- 
erack. My knee began to pain me as bad as ever and we stopped at a tavern. I 
being resolved to stay till next morning Sergt. Rockwell concluded to tarry with 
me. The Landlady being a good nurse sweat my knee this night. 

Claverac, Aug. 20, Sunday. — About 8 of the clock we set out in hopes to reach 
Albany this day. We rode as far as Kinderhook. Here I met an old acquaintance 
going to Albany with a wagon empty. I thought I could ride easier in the wagon 
than on my horse, he being willing to carry me I got Sergt. Rockwell to lead my 
horse. I rode to Albany with much ease. Come to Greenbush we left our horses 
and ferried over the river into the city and put up at Thomson's Tavern. 

Albany, Aug. 21. — Here I found Sergt. Johnson of New Stratford and sent 
my horse home by him. This morning I went to the Commissary to see if I could 
tarry a few days till I grew better. He said I might go to whatever place suited 
me best. I went to one Mr. Zolters. Here I dined on a very good pot pie. This 
afternoon there was about 500 Indians, some of all the 6 nations came into the city 
in order to agree with the United Colonies not to fight against them. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



151 



Albany, Aug. 22. — The Indians encampKicl on Albany Hill. I went up to take a 
view of their encampment. I found them to be very likely, spry, lustry fellows, 
drest very nice for Indians; the larger part of them had on ruffled shirts, Indian 
stockings and shoes, and blankets richly trimmed with silver and wampum. 

Albany, Aug. 23. — I went to the city to see some thieves tried for their life, 3 
negroes, Dick, a boy about 14 years old, one negro condemned to be hanged, one to 
'be whipt, 39 stripes on the naked body, rest one week and receive 39 more, to lie 
in prison one month and then be banished. The other negro and boy receive 39 
apiece. 

Albany, Aug. 24. — I saw a man come from Ticonderoga and says Coll. Water- 
bury's Regiment is now there but expects to march for Fort St. Johns in about 10 
days, which made me think of going forward as quick as possible to join the Regi- 
ment before it marched. 

Albany, Aug. 25. — This day the 6 nations of Indians is to tell their minds to 
the United Colonies by interpreters on both sides. I went to see them. There 
■was a large body of square seats made by the old dutch church for the Indians to 
set on. They made a very beautiful show, being the likeliest, brightest Indians I 
ever saw. They agreed to set in the corner and smoke their pipes if we let them 
alone. The colonies agreed to give them a present of 150 pounds worth of goods, 
the goods to be in laced hats, Indian blankets, calico, Holland, wampum, and other 
furniture for their use. 

Albany, Aug. 26. — I expected to set out for Ticonderoga with some teams and 
wagons my knee not being quite so strong as it was before. About one of the 
clock we set out on our journey. It being a cold, wet, uncomfortable day I got a 
very bad cold. We travelled to Half Moon, there we put up. 

Half Moon, Aug. 27, Sunday. — ^Being very cold for the season my knee grew 
so stiflf and lame I can hardly walk. The caravan got up their teams, and we went 
oflF very early. I rode on the cart the bigger part of the day. We went this day 
about seven miles above Still Water. 

Still Water, Aug. 28. — ^My knee is very lame, with much difficulty got on the 
cart, went this day 2 miles below Fort Edward. 

Fort Edward, Aug. 29. — iBeing wet we tarried till one o'clock before we set 
out. We went within five miles of Fort George. 

Below Fort George, Aug. 30. — We set out very early for Lake George where 
we arrived about nine of the clock. There I met with many of my acquaintance 
belonging to New Canaan under Capt. Baldwin of New Canaan which had the 
care of the Battoes. He gave us encouragement that we should have a passage 
over the lake next morning. Here I met Joseph Rockwell who left me at Albany. 

Fort George, Aug. 31. — About 9 of the clock we went on board the Battow for 
Ticonderoga, it being 35 miles. The wind being ahead we went only to Saberday 
Point, which is 24 miles from Fort George and lodged on green feather (Hemlodc 
boughs). 

Saberday Point, Sept. i. — We embarked on board our Battow very early. The 
wind being ahead we came to the landing about 9 of the clock, it being three miles 
from the Fort (Ticonderoga). Our regiment marched for Fort St. Johns* 2 days 

*A British stronghold on the west shore of Lake Champlain. 



152 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



ago, and there we found about 150 of Coll. Waterbury's soldiers, the sick and the 
cowards, also Capt. Read came in last night by Skeensborough. This afternoon 
went to view the Fort. I found it a very strong beautiful fort. 

Ticonderoga, Sept. 2. — There is about 1000 of Coll. Waterbury's Regiment 
discharged;** a large numlber of Coll. Hermen's Regiment discharged; how many 
I cannot tell. Coll. Herman's Regiment very sickly but not a man died till last 
night. 

Ticonderoga, Sept. 3, Sunday. — The Gunsmith, Blacksmith, Carpenters and 
Joiners all went to work the same as any other day of the week. 

Ticonderoga, Sept. 4. — We are loading one sloop and 12 Battoes for St. Johns. 
Here is 2)7 of Coll. Waterbury's Regiment to go in one Battow. We got ready to 
embark on board about sun set; the wind being ahead the sloop could not sail. The 
Battow rowed off and left her. We rowed this night as far as Crown Point and 
landed about 12 in the night. Here we took up our lodging some in the Battow, 
some went on shore it being very dark we could see now and then a light. Some 
got to the old French Barracks. As for my part Lieut. Briggs and I and 2 other 
soldiers got in an old house and took up our lodging among the fleas. It being very 
wet and cold we lodged very uncomfortably this night. 

Crown Point, Sept. 5. — I went to view the fort. I found it to be a very strong, 
curious fort. The Barracks within it are very beautiful, three in numlber, three 
stories high. The wooden work is consumed by fire. The stone work is all good 
and strong. I returned to our Boats and there we cooked a very good breakfast 
of venison. About 9 of the clock we embarked on board for our intended harbor 
in company with the other boats, the wind being very strong ahead we had to row 
18 miles and put up in a place we called Shelter Harbor about 3 o'clock in the 
afternoon. The wind held so strong ahead we concluded to take up our lodging 
here this night in the woods. About sun set there came another Boat and lodged 
with us, the others being behind. Here we kept a guard all night. In the evening 
one of our soldiers could not be found, I being Sergeant of the Guard this night 
went to relieve the Sentinel about one o'clock. I being 15 rods from our encamp- 
ment in the thickest of the bush stept on a man which made me almost cry out 
"Indian." I knowing his voice did forbear. 

Shelter Harbor, Lake Champlain, Sept. 6. — The wind being fair we sailed up 
the lake a few miles. The wind soon turned ahead we being obliged to drop sail 
and row; we out rowed all the Battow and lodged on an island our boats crew 
alone. 

Lake Champlain, Sept. 7. — 'The wind being fair we sot sail this morning the 
west side of the lake about 10 af the clock. The wind rose so very high and the 
lake so extremely rough that it broke our mast. We dropped our sails as quick 
as possible and went to rowing, being still on the west side of the lake and the 
wind strong in the South East — a dreadful rough, rocky shore. We made for it. 
We came within one rod of the shore it being so rocky we could not land without 
losing our Battow perhaps many of our lives, being exceeding heavy loaded. Some 
cried "Push her ashore." The officers were a mind to go around a point a little 
ahead of us. We had one sailor aboard, Nehemiah Gorham, who stept to the helm, 
turned her stern to the shore, and said, "The boat will not live to go around that 
Point!" Tie told us to double man the oars and we would try for an Island about 



**Their term of enlistment had expired. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



153 



40 rods from us against the wind. We all clapped to the oars and rowed with 
much difficulty and /great distress. Every wave seemed as if it would swallow up 
our small boat; but through the mercy of God we all arrived safe at the small 
Island. We had not been here long before we saw the sloop and other boats pass 
by us on the other (East) side of the Lake the wind being south east, the Lake 
was not so rough that side, which made us wish ourselves with them. We tarried 
here till about 4 o'clock afternoon when the wind ceasing a little we hoisted sail 
again and sailed until about 8 in the evening and took up our lodging in the wood 
our boats crew alone. 

Lake Champlain, Sept. 8. — ^We sot sail very early. About 8 o'clock we over- 
took the sloop aground 8 miles this side of Islandore. As we sailed by the Quar- 
ter Master General spoke to us in a speaking trumpet and said St. Johns was taken 
day before yesterday. We shot a gun and Huzzaed. About 8 o'clock we came to 
Islandore to our Regiment which landed here the 4th instant. I soon heard that 
St. Johns was not taken. They went out on scout about 1000 men, and came to 
within a mile and a half of the Fort where they were fired upon by some Indians 
and Regulars. They returned the tire. There was a hot fire for about 15 minutes. 
They run off and we retreated back a few rods and put up a Breast work. We 
lost 8 men and 6 wounded. 4 of Major Hobby's, 4 of Capt. Mead's killed, Major 
Hobby and Capt. Mead wounded and 4 privates. In the evening they flung bombs 
at us and drove us out of our Breast work. We retreated back about a mile and 
put up another Breast work and tarried here till day. 

Islandore, Sept. 10, Sunday. — There are orders for 25 men out of every com- 
pany to go to Shambalee about 4 miles above St. Johns. Our company was called 
out to see who were willing to go. The number turned out very soon. We cooked 
our victuals and carried 4 days allowance and clothes to shift ourselves once. 
About 4 of the clock in the afternoon we set out on our journey. As we came 
near the place where we had our first fight we discovered the enemy before they 
saw us, some on the shore and some on the Lake in Batteaux. We fired at those 
on the shore. They returned the fire — grape shot from their swivel boats and small 
arms from the shore. Our row gallies fired on their boats. The fire continued 
about ID minutes very hot, then they ran off. We kept our ground till day. We 
found one Regular and two Indians dead. We suppose we killed some on the 
water, and wounded some, but not certain. We stripped the Regular and found 
a very fine gun and sword — the gun with two Barrels the neatest I ever saw, a 
fine watch some money, and very neatly dressed. 

St. Johns, Sept. 11. — ^^Morning we returned back to Islandore very much fa- 
tigued and tired out. 

Islandore, Sept. 12. — Very wet and cold for the season. Our allowance is only 
pork and flour which makes very hard living. 

Islandore, Sept. 13. — We built a fashen (fascine) battery and placed two can- 
non in order to command the Lake that the enemy may not come upon us. Cold 
and uncomfortable weather for the season. 

Islandore, Sept. 14. — 'Fitting up to go to St. Johns as quick as possible in order 
to take the Fort. 

Islandore, Sept. 16. — Our Regiment is called out to see who will go by land 
and who by water. General Schuyler this morning set out for home. Brigadier 
General Montgomery commands by land Col. Waterbury by water. Of our Regi- 
ment Capt. Douglas' and Capt Reads company's go by water. Orders is out for 



154 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



all to hold themselves in readiness to strike their tents to morrow morning at the- 
Beat of drum. This day a party of our men went to Shambalee. 

Islandore, Sept. 17, Sunday. — We have orders to strike our tents and pack up 
our baggage in order to march for Fort St. Johns. We all embarked about 11 of 
the clock. We came within about two miles and a half of the Fort, when the 
Land forces landed and marched forward one mile and encamped. We lay on the 
water till night. They fired cannon and Bomb shells at us. Our row gallies fired 
45 cannon balls at them but no damage done. 

St. Johns, Sept. 18. — ^Our land forces built a large breastwork around their en- 
campment in order to lay siege against the Fort. Resolved to take the Fort or 
lose our lives. 

St. Johns, Sept. 10. — They cut a road toward the Fort in order to draw their 
cannon. The Shambalee party took this day 12 waggon loads of Provision, Rum,, 
Wine, & Ammunition, from the Regulars and received no damage from them. 
Toward night the Regulars came out upon the Shambalee party. They wounded 3. 
of our men and took 2 prisoners. Our men took some provisions and drove them 
to the fort. 

St. Johns, Sept. 20. — A number belonging to the water craft went to work with 
them on land — we cut a road and made bridges within half a mik of the Fort. 
They fired Bomb shells and cannon Balls more or less every day at us but they 
have done us no damage by it. 

St. Johns, Sept. 22. — ^\ve went to building a fasheen Battery about 100 rods 
this side of the Fort. We carried them through the bushes very still undiscovered 
by the Regulars till just at night a boat came along the lake about 12 Rods from 
the shore. A party discovered them, crept down in the bushes by the side of the 
Lake till they came against us, when they fired on them. They all dropt in the 
boat. They soon fired on us from the Fort, grape shot, cannon balls, and Bomb- 
shells did rattle. General Montgomery very narrowly escaped, a Bomb shell fell 
within three feet of him but we received no damage from them this day. 

St. Johns, Sept. 23. — They went to work at the Breast works. They fired on us 
and killed one man with a cannon ball through the body. The breast work is now 
about 4 feet high. 

St. Johns, Sept. 24, Sunday. — ^A number of the water craft men went to work 
with those on the land at building a fasheen Battery about a half mile from the 
Fort in order to place two cannon to command the latter. They fired on us all day 
but no damage done. 

St. Johns, Sept. 25. — We placed two mortars in our upper breast work and 2 
cannon in the other Battery about 50 rods below. About 3 of the clock in the after- 
noon we began to play upon them. There was a very hot fire on both sides until 
night but I believe no great damage done. 

St. Johns, Sept. 26. — It being very wet cold uncomfortable weather but little 
business done this day. 

St. Johns, Sept. 27. — The storm continued till about 3 in the afternoon: then 
the fire began very hot on both sides till night. They killed one of our men with a 
Bomb shell and wounded one. What damage we did them is uncertain. Begins to 
storm rain again. 

St. Johns, Sept. 28. — ^The storm continues, a cold wet uncomfortable day. But 
little firing this day. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. I 5 5 

St. Johns, Sept. 29. — The fire is very hot on Iboth sides, both Bomb shells and 
cannon balls but little damage that I know. 

St. Johns, Sept. 30. — Cold stormy weather. Firing on both sides but little dam- 
age done. 

St. Johns, Oct. I, Sunday. — The storm continues very cold. We went to work 
at Breast work round our encampment for fear of the Canadians and Indians. 
There is talk that 2000 of them are coming against us but hope it is nothing but 
camp news. But little firing this day. 

St. Johns, Oct. 3. — Cold, stormy weather yet. 250 Canadians built a breast 
work the east side of the Lake about 100 Rods from the Fort. Firing on both 
sides every day but no great damage done. 

St. Johns, Oct. 4. — ^About 10 of the clock the Regulars went across the Lake 
in a floating Battery, which was begun for a sloop but never finished, in order to 
drive off the Canadians. They fired cannon at 'them about half an hour and then 
with small arms. They attempted to force our Breast work. There was a very 
hot fire on both sides about half an hour. The Canadians stood their ground well. 
The Regulars retreated back to their row galley and rowed back to the Fort. The 
Canadians received no damage except one man wounded. What damage the Reg- 
ulars received is uncertain. 

St. John, Oct. 5. — Last night the old scow came in from Ticonderoga. This 
day we have carried it to our Bomb Battery in order to play on the Fort. This 
day very pleasant. 

'St. Johns, Oct. 6. — We placed the old scow in the Bomb Battery in order to 
play on the Fort. This evening we flung 8 Bombs on the Fort. They flung 24 at 
our encampment. No damage done. 

St. Johns, Oct. g. — This evening about 50 bomb shells flung on both sides. No 
damage that I know of. 

St. Johns, Oct. II. — This evening about 40 Bomb shells on both sides. But 
little damage done except one man's thigh broke with a Bomb shell. 

St. Johns, Oct. 12. — This day Seth Chase of Capt. Mead's Company died that 
was wounded yesterday. Nothing remarkable only very cold. 

St. Johns, Oct. 14. — We opened a Battery on the east side of the Lake about 60 
rods from the Fort where two twelve Pounders are placed and played on the Fort 
with all our cannon and mortars. The hottest fire this day ever hath been done 
here. We flung some Bombs in the Fort ; what damage done I know not. 

St. Johns, Oct. 15, Sunday. — Last night Ezra Morehouse of Capt. Dimons Regi- 
ment died with sickness. One man killed at the east Battery. The most fire this 
day ever hath been in one day yet. 

St. Johns, Oct. 16-19. — Three more cannon placed at the east Battery. Firing 
on both sides every day. 

St. Johns, Oct. 20. — Last night about 8 o'clock the Regulars at Shambly Fort 
resigned themselves prisoners after two days seige, with one cannon, there being 
80 men, 20 swivels, 50 barrels powder, and 500 stands of arms. 

St. Johns, Oct. 21. — This day we sent a flag of truce to see if they would give 
liberty to bring the prisoners and baggage by the Fort at the Lake. They were 
immediately granted liberty and they were brought this day aboard of our sloop 
and schooner. 



^56 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



St. John, Oct. 22, Sunday. — They beat a parley at the Fort and sent a Flag of 
truce to see if our General would send in three women which are amongst our 
prisoners, they being officers wives, now in the Fort. The General immediately 
sent them in. 

St. John, Oct. 23-24. — The prisoners set out for Hartford under the command 
of Col. Whiting. Firing more or less every day. 

St. Johns, Oct. 25. — One of the Battalion of Yorkers killed with a cannon Ball 
in camp this day. 

St. Johns, Oct. '2.'j. — We moved our cannon and mortars from the gun and 
bomb battery the west side of the Lake to Headquarters in order to carry them to 
the north side of the Fort. 

St. Johns, Oct. 28. — ^We packed up our baggage and marched four miles and 
encamped 2 miles above the Fort. This night we built a Fasheen Battery about 50 
Rods north side of the Fort. 

St. Johns, Oct. 29, Sunday. — The Regulars discovered our Battery. We guard- 
ed it with 100 men, I being one of the Guard. They flung upwards of 100 Bomb 
shells, some cannon and grape shot at us. Wounded one man, broke two guns. 
One Bomb shell broke within 4 feet of me which made me almost deaf. I believe 
there were 20 shells broke within two rods of me. This night we dragged four 
cannon and five mortars to this Breast work in order to play on the Fort. 

St. Johns, Oct. 30. — ^But little firing this day. This night we played these can- 
non and mortars. 

St. Johns, Nov. i. — ^We opened our Battery about 9 o'clock. There was the 
hottest fire that hath been yet about six hours and they beat a parley and set a 
flag of truce. 

St. Johns, Nov. 2. — They sent a flag of truce out three times before the matter 
was settled. The business being settled about 7 o'clock they resigned themselves 
Prisoners. They are to march through the country with their own private property 
with the honors of war giving up the Fort and all the King's stores. 

St. Johns, Nov. 3. — About 8 of the clock we marched into the Fort there being 
a large artillery, about 600 stands of arms, about 600 Prisoners. 

St. Johns, Nov. 5, Sunday. — We have received orders to march to morrow to 
Montreal. The Prisoners marched for Hartford this day. 

St. Johns, Nov. 6. — We marched 10 miles this day towards Montreal. 

Lapaine, Nov. 7. — We marched 6 miles into Lapaine town and there pitched 
our tents. The weather being cold makes it very uncomfortable living in tents. 

Lapaine, Nov. 10. — The snow is almost over shoes, a very cold, stormy day, 
which makes it very uncomfortable for poor soldiers who live in tents. 

Lapaine, Nov. 11. — About 8 o'clock we struck our tents and marched about half 
a mile to the River St. Lawrence and embarked on board the Batteaux and rowed 
about six miles toward Montreal and landed on St. Paul's Island, about 3 miles 
from Montreal. This evening at the firing of a cannon Governor Carlton and all 
the Regulars embarked on board the shipping with all the King's stores and sailed 
down the River. 

St. Paul's Island, Nov. 12, Sunday. — We embarked on board the Batteaux and 
rowed within one mile of town and landed and marched into the suburbs, and 




(^Hk 



tA^t^ 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



157 



lodged in houses this night. The Canadians kept a guard round the walls of the 
city this night. 

Montreal, Nov. 13. — We marched into town about 9 o'clock to the Barracks 
and cleaned them out in order to live in the same. 

Montreal, Nov. 15. — ^Began to enlist soldiers to tarry the winter coming. Cold 
stormy weather. 

Montreal, Nov. 16. — ^Fitting ourselves to return home. Orders to march to 
morrow very early.* 

Montreal, Nov. 17. — We embarked on board the Batteaux and rowed across to 
Longgine and marched six miles to Lapaine, and lodged in houses this night. Ex- 
treme cold for the time of year. 

Lapaine, Nov. 18. — Marched to St. Johns 18 miles, it being a very frozen time 
we marched through dry. 

St. Johns, Nov. 19, Sunday. — All hands at work fitting to set sail to morrow 
morning. Ordered to embark at the firing of the morning gun. 

St. Johns, Nov. 20. — The wind being ahead so that we can not sail ; About sun- 
set the wind turned to be fair but very little air stirring. All ordered to be aboard 
as we may be ready to set sail if the wind should rise. Cold winter weather. The 
ice is hard so that it will bear horses and carts. 

St. Johns, Nov. 21. — The wind being fair we set sail about 9 o'clock. There 
being but very little wind we sailed only 15 miles to Islandore and lay aboard the 
sloop it being a very stormy, uncomfortable day. 

Islandore, Nov. 22.. — The wind being almost ahead we set sail and sailed about 
one mile. We made such poor way ahead we dropt anchor and lay this day on the 
cold Lake. It being a very stormy day lodged aboard this night. 

Lake Champlain, Nov. 23. — The wind being ahead we towed the sloop about 
3 miles. It being a stormy winter-like day the sloop's crew lodged aboard except 
myself and two more who lodged in a French House very comfortably. 

Lake Champlain, Nov. 24. — ^The wind ahead we tawed the sloop about 50 rods 
and dropt anchor. Again in the afternoon we towed about 4 miles and dropt 
anchor. All lay aboard the sloop this night. 

Lake Champlain, Nov. 25. — The wind almost ahead and very calm. We only 
sailed about 10 miles : all lay aboard the sloop this night it being a very stormy 
night. 

Lake Champlain, Nov. 26, Sunday. — ^Being a very cold snow storm the wind 
in the north we sailed about 60 miles to Crown Point, and dropt anchor and lodged 
at the Point this night. 

Crown Point, Nov. 2^. — Set sail before sunrise for Ticonderoga, it being very 
calm. We arrived at Ticonderoga about 3 o'clock in the afternoon it being 15 miles. 

Ticonderoga, Nov. 28. — ^We drawed three Batteaux i mile and a half by land 
into Lake George in order to cross the Lake to morrow in the morning. 

Ticonderoga, Nov. 29. — We embarked on board the Batteaux this morning, the 
wind being strong ahead we rowed only 12 miles to Saberday Point, and lodged 
there this night on the cold ground, the snow being about six inches deep. 

*The effort to enlist men would seem to have failed. 



158 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Lake George, Saberday Point, Nov. 30. — The wind beiiijf strong ahead with 
much difficulty we rowed 24 miles to Fort George. Lodged this night in the Bar- 
racks. 

Fort George, Dec. i. — Our baggage being brought in sleighs we marched 17 
miles, two miles below Fort Edward, and lodged at Esquire Tuttles. 

Fort Edward, Dec. 2. — 'We marched 18 miles to Saratoga and lodged at San- 
dered Bemejess, it being a very wet night. li 

/Saratoga, Dec. 3, Sunday. — ^The snow being gone we left our sleighs and got 
carts and marched 36 miles to the New City, it being a very muddy day. 

New City, Dec. 4. — (Marched 12 miles to Albany and loaded our baggage aboard 
the sloop in order to set sail to morrow morning. 

Albany, Dec. 5. — ^The wind being strong ahead we lay this day in town waiting 
for the wind to turn in our favor. ! 

Albany, Dec. 6. — 'The wind being near west we set sail about 9 o'clock. 

The diary fills the last pages of a manuscript book entitled "Aaron 
Barlow's Book of Orders at New York, began June 13, a. d. 1775," the 
first twenty-four pages being taken up with the General and Regimental 
Orders issued while the troops lay at New York and up to the capture of 
the fort at Islandore. 

In the Fishkill Campaign, Oct. 5-19, 1777, Col. Barlow served as En- 
sign in Captain John Gray's Company, 4th Connecticut Militia. In 
April, 1780, tie was commissioned Lieutenant in Captain Jesse Bedl's Com- 
pany, Col. Bezaleel Beebe's Regiment of State troops, and served on the 
Westchester front. In May, 1781, we find him a Lieutenant of the coast 
guard at Green Farms. After the war he achieved distinction in civil 
life. He served a term as Deputy Sheriff of Fairfield County, was four 
terms in the Connecticut Legislature, in October, 1792, May and Octo- 
ber, 1794, and May, 1795. In the militia service he rose through the 
grades of Captain and Major to be Lieutenant-Colonel of the 4th Con- 
necticut Regiment. He was interested with his brother, Joel Barlow, 
in several industrial enterprises, notably the building of a grist mill (on 
the site of the one now occupied by J. L. Blackman) for the kiln drying 
of corn for export to the West Indies. He is also said to have establish- 
ed an iron foundry with his brother Joel in Weston, probably at the 
present Valley Forge. Joel Barlow often spent his college vacations 
with his elder brother, Aaron, and is said by family tradition to have 
written his Vision of Columbus in this house. In 1800, Col. Barlow went 
to Norfolk, Va., and died there the same year of yellow fever. 

AARON SANFORD. 

Aaron Sanford, the first male member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in New England, bapt. May 29, 1757, settled in the centre and 
lived in the old colonial house on the brow of the hill overlooking the 




^ , Ps . bt-O/ 




~) 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



159 



valley of Littlq River, now untenanted. He was the leader of the little 
class of Methodists organized in Redding by Jesse Lee in 1790. The 
Methodist circuit preachers in their rounds often shared his hospitality, 
and held their meetings in his house. Later in life he became an accept- 
able local preacher in that church. His diary, beginning in 1818 and 
ending in 1844, is in the possession of his grand-daughter, Miss Julia 
H. Sanford, and shows in a striking way his religious devotion and deep 
conscientiousness. He records going to prayer meeting, class meeting, 
and quarterly meeting in Danbury, Ridgefield, Loantown, Norfield, 
Starr's Plain, Lee's Chapel, Egypt School-house, and other places, and 
speaks of meeting the sick and praying with them. Jan. 16, 1821, he 
records : "I went to Nath. Couch's and saw all the children of Thomas 
N. Couch, late deceased, and talked about religion and prayed with 
them." March 30, 1823 : "I went to meeting. Mr. Hunt preached. In 
the intermission my Daughter Hannah spoke with power. It was ren- 
dered a great blessing." (When one recalls how rigorously the "Stand- 
ing Order" enforced the Pauline injunction, "Let your women keep 
silence in the Churches," this was indeed an innovation.) May 2, 1824. 
he records that "Alice Miller (the Girl) preached. I went." (Perhaps 
the first instance of a woman's preaching in New England.) 

Prayer meetings, class meetings, band meetings, love feasts, quarter- 
ly meetings, camp meetings, and society meetings are mentioned as 
among the means of grace enjoyed by these early Methodists.* 

STEPHEN R. MALLORY. 

"Stephen Russell Mallory, second son of Charles Mallory, of Red- 
ding, Conn., was born in the West Indies in 1814, and came to the 
United States when but three months old. In 1819 he accompanied his 
father to Florida, and was placed at an 'old field school' near Mobile, 
from whence he was removed to the academy at Nazareth, Pa., where he 
spent several years. He returned to Florida in 1830, and established 
his residence at Key West, where he embraced the profession of law. 
Mr. Mallory filled many important trusts under the State and General 
Governments, and was collector of the customs and superintendent of the 
revenue at Key West, under Mr. Polk. In 1850 he was elected to the 
United States Senate for the term of six years." The above is from 
Gleason's "Pictorial Companion" for 1853. Mr. Mallory's subsequent 
career as Secretary of the Confederate Navy is familiar to the reader. 

MAJOR-GENERAL D. N. COUCH. 

Major-General Darius N. Couch was born of Redding parents, in 
South-East, New York, July 25th, 1822. The following sketch of his 

'•'See also the Sanford Family, Chapter XXIII. 



l6o HISTORY OF REDDING. 

career, taken largely from Cullum's History of the Officers and Gradu- 
ates of the United States Military Academy, will be read with interest: 

"Darius N. Couch, born in New York, appointed from New York, 
cadet at United States Military Academy from July ist, 1842, to July 
I St, 1846, when he was graduated and promoted in the army to Brevet 
Second Lieutenant 4th Artillery. Served in the war with Mexico in 
1846-47-48, being engaged in the battle of Buena Vista, Mex., as Second 
Lieutenant in Captain Washington's Battery, Light Artillery, for which 
he was brevetted First Lieutenant for gallant and meritorious conduct. 
Participating in the occupation of the Seminole country in 1852-3, he 
planned and executed at his own expense a scientific expedition into 
Central and Northern Mexico, the results of which were very creditable 
to his enterprise. He married, in 1854, a daughter of Hon. S. L. Crock- 
er, of Taunton, Mass., and grand-daughter of Isaiah Thomas, founder 
of the Antiquarian Society of Worcester, Mass., and author of the 'His- 
tory of Printing.' The next year he resigned from the army. At the 
breaking out of the Rebellion, being settled in Taimton, Mass., he raised 
the 7th Reg. Alass. Vols., and proceeded to Washington in July, 1861. 
Was made Brigadier-General in August, and assigned to the command 
of a brigade in the defence of that city. In McClellan's Campaign on 
the Peninsula, General Couch commanded the ist Division, 4th Army 
Corps, holding the left of the line at the siege of Yorktown. At the bat- 
tle of Fair Oaks, his brave Division held its ground for more than 
two hours against the combined attack of the Confederate troops. With 
part of his Division he reinforced Hooker in the hot action of Oak 
Grove, June 25th, 1862, and was in various skirmishes during the seven 
days until July ist, on which morning General McClellan posted him on 
the main road leading to Richmond, where was fought the successful 
battle of Malvern Hill. 

"Being promoted to the rank of Major-General, July 4th, 1862, he 
joined Pope with his Division on the retreat from Manassas, in the 
Northern Virginia Campaign. October, 1862, in command of the 2d 
Army Corps, Campaign of the Rapahannock. At Fredericksburg, De- 
cember I2th, 13th, 14th, and 15th, it fell upon General Couch to assault 
Mary's Heights, in which desperate work that brave, magnificent 2d 
Army Corps lost more than 4,000 men. The loss of his Corps at the 
disastrous battle of Chancellorsville, where he was second in command, 
was very heavy. In November, 1864, he joined Thomas, who was be- 
sieged at Nashville, and was assigned by that commander to the com- 
mand of an Army Corps. In the battle which followed he commanded 
a division, turned Hood's left, and captured several pieces of artillery 
and many prisoners. In North Carolina, March, April, and May, he aid- 




9^in6i^i^ 



HISTORY OF REDDING. l6l 

ed Sherman in closing the war. Resigned in June, 1865, the Great 
Rebellion having been crushed out. 

"The General has for several years resided at Norwalk, Conn., hav- 
ing been Quartermaster-General at Hartford during the years 1877-78." 

GIDEON H. HOLLISTER. 
Hon. Gideon H. Hollister, of Litchfield, was a descendant of two of 
our Redding families, as will be seen by reference to the notes on the 
Gray and Jackson families. He was born December 14th, 1818, in 
Washington, Conn., and graduated at Yale College in 1840. Studied 
law in Litchfield, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1842. He prac- 
tised law in Litchfield until 1859, when he opened an office in New York. 
He went as United States Charge d' Affaires to Hayti when that country 
was under the administration of Salnave. In 1855 he published a His- 
tory of Connecticut in two volumes, of which two editions, of two thou- 
sand copies each, have been exhausted. He was the author of three his- 
torical dramas, one of them bearing the title of "Thomas a Becker." 
He also wrote a legal treatise on the Law of Eminent Domain. 

ORVILLE H. PLATT. 
Orville H. Piatt, late Senator of the United States, was of Redding 
ancestry. (See Piatt family.) He was born in Washington, Conn., 
July 19, 1827, and after receiving an academic education, studied law 
and was admitted to the bar in 1849. He at once opened a law office 
in Meriden, Conn., which city thereafter became his home. Entering 
politics he became Clerk of the State Senate, 1857; State Senator, 1861-2; 
member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, 1864, and again 
in 1869, when he served as Speaker. In 1879, he was elected to the 
Senate of the LTnited States and held the office by successive re-elections 
until his death in 1905. Senator Piatt was. at the time of his death, the 
recognized leader of the Senate, and high in the confidence of the Presi- 
dent and of the leaders of his party. 

EBENEZER J. HILL. 
Ebenezer J. Hill, who has represented the Fourth Congressional 
District of Connecticut in the House of Representatives at Washington 
since 1895, was born in Redding, August 4, 1845, (See Hill Family), and 
educated at the public schools of Norwalk, whither his father soon re- 
moved, and at Yale College. His first public office was that of Burgess 
of Norwalk, and he was twice chairman of the Board of School Visitors 
of that city. He was a delegate to the National Republican Convention 
of 1884; a member of the State Senate, 1886-7; 0"g term on the State 
Republican Committee; and in 1895 was elected to represent the Fourth 
District in Consfress, which office he now holds. 



1 52 HISTORY OF REDDING, 

BISHOP THOMAS F. DAVIES. 

Bishop Thomas F. Davies of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of 
Michigan, though born in Fairfield, was of Redding ancestry. For our 
sketch of him we cannot do better than to quote from a sermon of the 
Rev. Edward M. Jefferys, delivered in his former church of St. Peter's, 
Philadelphia, on the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, 1906 : 

"Bishop Davies was descended from a Welsh family which came to 
America from Herefordshire in 175 1. He was born in Fairfield County, 
Connecticut,, August 31st, 1831. It was a year that is usually reckoned 
a turning point in American history — the year that saw great questions 
which had lain more or less dormant since the beginning of our history 
becoming questions of the day, and shaking society to its foundations. 
The Bishop was descended from a long line of ancestors who had been 
clergymen of the Church of England, and devoted to the crown. From 
these stanch loyalists he inherited a disposition which, while it was 
genial, tender and sympathetic, was always conservative in politics and 
churchmanship. 

"His education was gotten in the famous schools of his native State, 
the New Haven Grammar School, Yale University, and Berkeley Divin- 
ity School at Middletown. At Yale he was a student at a time when 
there were many men in the University who afterwards became famous 
in the various walks of life, and yet it is stated by those who were then 
in a position to know, that he held a real leadership in the student body, 
and a distinct pre-eminence in the estimation of the Faculty. 

"His wit and kindness, his bigness of frame and heart and mind, gave 
him the leadership of the undergraduates ; his quiet dignity, his strength 
of character and his fine scholarship gave him influence with President 
Woolsey and the leading professors, and it is said by his college chum 
(ex-President White, of Cornell), that more than once he was used by 
the students as an ambassador to make intercession to the Faculty for 
some delinquent, and that 'in more than one case his intercession pre- 
vented severity.' 

"At the age of twenty-two Bishop Davies obtained the Berkeley 
Scholarship, and graduated from Yale with the famous class of '53. 

"Following in the footsteps of many of his ancestors, he decided to 
study for Holy Orders, and entered the Berkeley Divinity School under 
the Rt. Rev. John Williams, Bishop of Connecticut. For six years he 
lived with Bishop Williams, became his secretary, and laid the founda- 
tions of an intimate friendship which lasted till the Presiding Bishop's 
death. 

"Bishop Davies had a remarkable talent for languages. He was one 
of the best Greek scholars Yale University ever produced, and two 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



163 



years after his graduation he occupied the chair of Hebrew and Cognate 
Languages at the Berkeley Divinity School. Bishop Davies was or- 
dained deacon by Bishop Williams in 1856, and priest the following year. 

"In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, he was called from the mis- 
sionary work about Middletown, and the chair of Hebrew at Berkeley, 
to the rectorship of St. John's Church, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 

"He remained in Portsmouth till 1868, when he was elected rector 
of St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia. He was rector of this parish for 
twenty-one years, and during all that time he maintained the high stand- 
ard left him by his distinguished predecessors. 

"His rectorship in this parish was a conspicuous success. Statistics 
can never measure what he did, no matter how instructive they may be; 
but we must not forget that during his rectorship three thousand souls 
received Holy Baptism, one thousand persons were confirmed, the En- 
dowment Fund was begun and successfully continued, St. Peter's House 
established, two churches built, the influence of the Parish extended in 
many directions, and seven hundred thousand dollars contributed for 
Church purposes. 

"On St. Luke's Day, 1889, the beloved rector was consecrated in this 
Church Bishop of Michigan. One of his consecrators was Bishop Wil- 
liams, of Connecticut, his life-long friend and mentor. 

"Bishop Davies's ministry in the diocese of Michigan was abundantly 
blessed. His life-long missionary spirit served him well. Many new 
missions were established under his wise direction, and weak parishes 
were revived and strengthened. The Church in the city of Detroit en- 
joyed great prosperity during his entire episcopate, more than keeping 
pace with the development of the city in the period of its greatest growth. 
Bishop Davies died in the city of Detroit, Mich., November 9th, 1905." 

JUDGE WILLIAM STRONG. 

Judge Strong, though born in Somers, Conn. (1808), resided in 
Redding from 1830 to 1835, his father, the Rev. William L. Strong, 
having been pastor of the Congregational Church here during that 
I period. Judge Strong graduated from Yale College in 1828, made his 
maiden speech as a lawyer before a Justice Court in Redding, settled 
as a lawyer in Reading, Pa., became a member of Congress, a Judge of 
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and in 1870 was appointed a Jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court of the LTnited States. (See also the Strong 
Family.) 

WILLIAM A. CROFFUT. 

William x-\ugustus Croffut, author, was born in Redding in 1836. 
Entered newspaper work in 1854, was a private in the United States 



164 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Army in the Civil War. Was some time editor of the Alinneapolis Tri 
biine, Rochester (N. Y.) Democrat, New Haven Palladium, and Daib 
Post of Washington, D. C. Executive officer of the U. S. Geologica 
Survey, 1888-94. In 1899 he organized and became secretary of tin 
Anti-Imperialist League; is President of the Liberty League; is Ph. D 
of Union College. Dr. Croffut is a prolific author, having written tei 
volumes of poems and several of verse, among the former being, *Tbi 
Vanderbilts," "Folks Next Door," '"A Mid-summer Lark," "The Opei 
Door of Dreamland," and the "Crimson Wolf." He also wrote tha 
opening ode for the World's Columbian Exposition in May, 1893. Hi 
resides in Washington, D. C. 

DANIEL NASH MORGAN. 

The first paternal ancestor of Mr. Morgan in this country was James 
of Handoff, the fourth son of William Morgan, of a branch of the Tredei 
gar Morgans of Wales, who was born in 1607, and came to Bostotr 
Mass., in 1636, and to New London, Conn., in 1640. He niarried Man 
gery Hill, of Roxbury, Mass., August 6th, 1640. (His brother Mile: 
settled in Springfield, Mass.) The succeeding generations were Johi: 
Morgan, born 1645, who married Rachel Dymond, Nov. 16, 1665 ; Isaa. 
Morgan, born Oct. 24th, 1670, died Nov. 25th, 1754; Peter Morgan, bor: 
about 1705, who died in Norwich, Conn., August 13th, 1786. He mai^ 
ried Elizabeth Whitmore of Middletown, Conn., February 23, 1738. 

Zedekiah Morgan was born in Norwich in 1744. He married Rut 
Dart, (daughter of John Dart and Ruth Moor Dart, born Dec. 28, 1745) 
in New London, January 26th, 1769. He moved to Newtown in thi 
Hopewell district, purchasing a tract of territory covering 690 acre; 
which is still known as the Morgan farm. He was in the Revolution 
ary war and during one winter a large number of horses belonging tt 
the American Army were kept on his premises. His son, Hezekiah Moi 
gan, was born July 24th, 1773. He lived nearly all his life in Reddim 
Conn., and died March 24th, 1857. He married Elizabeth Sanford, thli 
eldest daughter of John and Anna (Wheeler) Sanford of Redding, Df 
cember 27th, 1796. She was born October 13, 1763. and died Angus 
5th, 1853. 

Ezra Morgan, son of Hezekiah and Elizabeth (Sanford) Morgar 
was born in Redding, February 21st, 1801. In his early manhood fci 
moved to Newtown, and for more than forty years conducted a generr 
store at what is still known as Morgan's Four Corners. He had a larg 
farm, was president of the Hatters' Bank in Bethel for years, was a men 
ber of the Legislature three sessions, and held numerous other publ 
positions. He died June 9th, 1871. He married, June 5th, 1838, Hai 
nah Nash, daughter of Regan Daniel Nash, of Westport, Conn. Mr 



lofici 1 



% 



;aa| 



ihi 





HISTORY OF REDDING. 



165 



Morgan passed from this life April 15th, 1883. Mr, Nash was born 
May 12, 1770, (a descendant of John Nash, the first white child born in 
Norwalk), and after a long, useful and successful career as a miller and 
financier, died August 2d, 1865. Mr. Nash married, Oct. 8, 1808, Re- 
becca Camp, of Norwalk, Conn. She was born December i8th, 1774, 
and died on April 8th, 1854. 

Daniel Nash Morgan, the eldest son of Ezra and Hannah Nash Mor- 
gan, was born at Newtown, Conn., August i8th, 1844. He attended 
the district school until ten years of age, and then the Newtown Aca- 
demy or the Bethel Institute until he was sixteen ; then for five years he 
was a clerk in his father's general store. For one year following his 
majority he was proprietor of the store. For about three years there- 
after he was of the firm of Morgan and Booth of Newtown Centre. In 
1869 he went to Bridgeport and until January ist, 1880, was in the dry 
goods and carpet business under the firm name of Birdsey and Morgan. 
At the earnest request of business friends he became, in 1877, ^ director 
of the City National Bank of Bridgeport, and in January, 1879, its presi- 
dent, holding that position until May 26, 1893, when he resigned to as- 
sume the office of Treasurer of the United States, having been appointed 
by President Grover Cleveland on April nth, 1893, and confirmed by 
the Senate April 15, 1893. On June ist, 1893, he gave to his predecssor 
a receipt for $740,817,419.78 2-3. On retiring from the office, July ist, 
1897, he took from his successor a receipt for $796,925,439.17 2-3. 

Mr. Morgan has repeatedly held public office by gift of his fellow 
citizens, positions wholly unsought by him. As a Democrat in 1873-4 
he was a member of the Common Council of his adopted city. In 
1877-8, on the Board of Education, and again from 1898 to 1904. In 
1880 he was elected Mayor of the City of Bridgeport and again in 1884. 
In 1883 he represented Bridgeport in the lower house of the State Legis- 
lature, and was a member of the State Senate in 1885, 1886, and 1893. 
It was during the latter session that he was appointed Treasurer of the 
United States, the eighteenth person to hold the position since the forma- 
tion of the government. In private life and in business Mr. Morgan 
has held many positions of trust. He was for many years vice-president 
and then president of the Mechanics and Farmers Saving Bank in the 
days of its infancy, when it needed strong hands to support it and gain 
the confidence of the public. From the inception of the Bridgeport 
Hospital he aided the enterprise and was for several years its President. 
He was parish clerk thirteen years, then Junior Warden and afterward 
Senior Warden of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church. He was for 
two years Worshipful Master of Corinthian Lodge, 104. F. A. M.. and is 
a member of Hamilton Commandery, 45, K. T., and of Pequannock 
Lodge, 4, I. O. O. F. Mr. Morgan was the candidate of his party for 



1 56 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Governor in 1898, and in the election by the Legislature of Connecticut 
in 1899, of a United States Senator, he received their votes for that ex- 
alted position. He was also a member of the building committee of the 
Y. M. C. A. of Bridgeport, and for years one of its directors, and is also 
interested in the Bridgeport Scientific and Historical Society. 

Mr. Morgan has been a wide traveler both in foreign lands and in 
his own country. If he has a fad it is for the collection of autographs 
and autograph letters, of which he has an exceptionally large and fine 
collection. His scrap books filled with clippings would make quite a 
library. 

Mr. Morgan married, June loth, 1868, Medora Huganen Judson, 
daughter of the late Captain William A. Judson, of Huntington, Conn., 
who was captain of a ship making a trip to China before he was 21. 
He was a descendant of William Judson of Stratford, Conn., in 1639. 
Mr. Judson was prominent in the afi:airs of his town, having been a mem- 
ber of both branches of the Legislature, County Commissioner, and was 
the trying Justice of the Peace for very many years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have two children now living, Mary Hunting- 
ton Morgan, born November 29, 1873, who married, June 9th, 1904, 
Daniel Edwards Brinsmade, and William Judson Morgan, born May 17, 
1881, who married, February 9th, 1904, Helen Jeannette Brinsmade, of 
Huntington, Connecticut, born Aug. 15th, 1881, daughter of Daniel Sey- 
mour Brinsmade and Jeannette (Pardee) Brinsmade. A daughter, Flor- 
ence Newton Morgan, born in Huntington, Conn., Dec. 5th, 1876, died 
April 1 8th, 1878. 

The following from Miss Rebecca D. Beach's history of "Reverend 
John Beach and John Sanford and their Descendants," will be of interest 
to some living in Newtown and Reading: 

"Mrs. Morgan (Daniel N.) is herself a descendant of John Beach 
the first, 

Through John and Flannah Staples, Ebenezer and Mehitable Gibson, 

John and Rebecca, Hezekiah and Silliman, Rebecca and Agur 

Judson, William Agur Judson and Marietta Beardsley. Marietta Beard- 
sley was the daughter of Ebenezer Beardsley and Maria Beach, who was 

the daughter of Ebenezer (brother of Hezekiah) and Abbie Beach. 

The double connection explains itself. The marriages and full family 
records of the two brothers, Hezekiah and Ebenezer Beach, can be found 
in the first volume of Town Records (Huntington) at Shelton, Conn. 
(Town Clerk's Ofifice). 

Ezra and Hannah (Nash) Morgan had eight children. Elizabeth 
Sanford Morgan, the eldest child, born March 31st, 1839, married the 
late Rufus Davenport Cable, of Westport, Conn., Oct. 15th, 1862. Of 




REV. A. J. SMITH. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 1 67 

their six children, three daughters are Hving, Mrs. Marcus Bayard But- 
ler, Mrs. Edward J. Buehner, and Mrs. George A. Robson. 

Mrs. E. S. (Morgan) Cable, beside the subject of this sketch, is now- 
living. 

The other children who are not living and who died unmarried, were : 
Mary Camp, Harriet Louisa, Cornelia Jane, Hannah Sophia, and Freder- 
ick Ezra Morgan. 

The youngest member of the family, Edward Kemper Morgan, born 
March i6, 1859, died at Bridgeport, April 14th, 1906. He married 
Charlotte Adelaide Judson of Huntington, Sept. 27, 1883. She has two 
sons, Daniel Judson Morgan, born June 10, 1885, and Frederick Ed- 
ward Morgan, born February 13, 1890. 

Mr. Morgan relates the following stories of his paternal and maternal 
grandfathers, Hezekiah Morgan and Daniel Nash : 

'Tn 1844, the year of my birth, my grandfather Nash was seventy-four 
years old. That was four years before the New York, New Haven and 
Hartford Railroad was built. Mr. Nash was in New York of a Satur- 
day morning and anxious to get home. He missed the Harlem trains, 
which ran but once or twice a day, so he walked over forty miles to 
Westport that day, a part of the way in a snow storm. On his arrival 
home it was feared he had taken his last walk after such prolonged exer- 
tion, but he declared next morning that he did not have an ache or a 
pain in his body; and he lived for twenty-one years afterward, into his 
ninety-sixth year. 

"When my grandfather Morgan was a youth, owing to an illness that 
indicated a fatal termination, 'his physician recommended a sea voyage 
as a remedy, which he took, taking with him his shroud. A friend went 
with him simply for a pleasant trip, but was taken sick and died while 
on the voyage, and was buried at sea, clothed in the funeral garb men- 
tioned above." 

The late high sheriff, Thomas Sanford, related to me many years ago 
the following incident of Redding politics : "When the members of the 
Legislature were elected one at a time — when a town was entitled to two 
— and Redding so regularly Republican that Democrats voted simply to 
stand by their colors, after your grandfather (Hezekiah Morgan) had 
voted and started for home thCj count of votes showed that a Democrat 
had been elected, which so elated the victors that they sent me after your 
grandfather to return and vote for another candidate. When I over- 
took him and told him my errand, he replied that he felt like saying as 
did Simeon, 'Lord, let now thy servant depart in peace, for I have seen 
thv salvation.' " 



1 68 HISTORY OF REDDING. > 

EDWIN GILBERT. 

Edwin Gilbert was born in Georgetown, Conn., September 7th, 1812, 
and died at his winter home, Crescent City, Florida, February 281th, 1906. 
Mr. Gilbert's career emphasizes the fact often noted that in our country 
of opportunities men may succeed under the most adverse circumstances, 
provided they are born with a genius for mastery and leadership. 

His father, Benjamin Gilbert, learned the allied trades of tanner, 
currier and shoemaker, and was following them when the lad was born 
and continued to do so for some six years later. But lie possessed inven- 
tive genius and business ability of a high order and was not long con- 
tent with the humble role of village shoemaker. In 181 8 he founded the 
present Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company by taking the long 
hair of cattle, which he collected as a tanner, and weaving it into sieves 
for the use of house-wives in sifting meal and flour. Aided by his ener- 
getic wife, his business prospered, and at the age of sixteen the boy, Ed- 
win, left school and took a subordinfite position in his father's factory. 
Here he displayed an inventive talent and business aptitude greater even 
than his father's, and rose through all the grades — including the selling 
of the firm's products "on the road," then almost the only way of dis- 
tributing goods — until in 1844, at the age of thirty-two, he was admitted 
a member of the firm, which some time before had been enlarged by the 
admission of his brother-in-law, Sturges Bennett, and of his elder broth- 
er, William J. Gilbert. Two years later, October 26, 1846, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Elizabeth Jones, of Wilton, Conn. Mr. Gilbert remained 
a member of the firm of Gilbert & Bennett until its incorporation in 1874 
as the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company, when he was made 
a Director. The next year, 1875, he was elected Superintendent and 
Treasurer, and in 1884, President, which position he held for twenty- 
two years, or until his death in 1906, at which time he had been a mem- 
ber of the company for sixty-two years. 

It is no injustice to Mr. Gilbert's able associates to say that much 
of the success of the great corporation of which he was so long the head, 
was due to his inventive genius, courage, energy, and business capacity. 
The many patented machines and improved processes by which the com- 
pany produces its specialties at a cost which enables it to hold the mar- 
ket were most of them invented by him. He had a keen judgment of 
men, and in the selection of subordinates for liTs great business, showed 
a sagacity that amounted almost to intuition. His courage and energy 
were most markedly shown at the time of the great fire of May 10, 1874, 
when nearly all of the "Upper Factories" were burned, entailing a loss 
of $200,000, on which there was an insurance of but $40,000. Those 
were the times that tried the souls of the officials of the company re- 




tXi 



cd 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



169 



sponsible for its continued existence and success. Not only were the 
factories and finished product in ashes, but the complicated machinery, 
and in some cases the patterns themselves were destroyed. To restore 
them would be the work of months ; meantime the firm's large orders for 
goods could not be filled and would be given to others ; notes also would 
come due that must be met. Then there were the employes, who must 
be given work and wages. To many the outlook seemed hopeless ; but 
Mr. Gilbert never despaired. 

"We will build it all up anew," he declared, and it was done. Most 
of the labor of rehabilitation fell on him. One intimately associated with 
him describes him as often walking the floor all night during this period, 
studying how to meet the responsibility thrust upon him. He was ably 
seconded in the struggle by his loyal and faithful wife. Gradually the 
sun broke through the clouds. Creditors were considerate and notes 
were extended. The factories were rebuilt in a much more modern and 
substantial manner, and in a few years the business showed a healthful 
recovery and was on a much more satisfactory basis. 

But Mr. Gilbert was something more than a successful business man. 
He was a religious man in the best sense. Philanthropy — love of his 
"kind — was innate. He took great interest in his employes, encouraging 
them to own their homes. On his initiative the company put into effect 
a rule placing a premium on temperance, and provided model tenements 
which are leased to employes at a rental of $3.00 and $4.00 a month. 
Life's farm at Branchville, where the children of the New York tene- 
ments are given a fresh air outing during the summer months, was donat- 
ed by him. To it he gave large sums during his life and remembered it 
handsomely in his will. Said Life, in an editorial notice of his death, 
"The children have lost a benefactor and Life mourns a faithful friend." 
He was firm in his friendships, generous and hospitable. 

Progressiveness was a marked trait in his character. Until his de- 
cease he had as strong an interest in any improvement designed to aid 
his business as when in the prime of life. Said a friend, an eminent 
lawyer of judicial mind, "Mr. Gilbert and Dr. Seward were the only old 
men I ever met who lived for the future rather than in the past." In 
later life he took great interest in agriculture, and created, near George- 
town, a model farm of three hundred and fifty acres on which various 
experiments designed to benefit the industry were carried on. An orch- 
ard of young apple trees on it he caused to be grafted. "But, Mr. Gil- 
bert," urged a friend, "Why do you do it? You will never live to eat 
any of the friiit." "No," he repHed, "I shall not, but others will." This 
farm Mr. Gilbert left to Storrs Agricultural College with sixty thousand 
dollars, on condition that it should be used as an agricultural experiment 
station. 



I JO HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Air, Gilbert died possessed of an estate valued at half a million dol- 
lars, over one-half of which was donated to various worthy institutions. 

WILLIAM H. GILDER. 

Of the many earnest, self-sacrificing men who served the Methodist 
church in Redding none perhaps are more worthy of lasting remem- 
brance than William H. Gilder, who was here in 1859-60 — the year before- 
the great war. Of that war a little later Mr. Gilder was one of the un- 
laureled heroes. At its beginning he was commissioned chaplain of the 
40th New York Volunteers, and accompanied his regiment to the front, 
where he soon won recognition as an earnest and faithful chaplain. In 
April, 1864, when Hancock's Division — to which his regiment was at- 
tached — lay at Brandy's Station, A^a., smallpox broke out among the men. 
Tent hospitals, to which the infected were removed, were hastily im- 
provised. There was a dearth of nurses to serve therein, all fearing the 
dreaded scourge. The patients suffered in consequence and many died 
who might with careful nursing have recovered. Unable to bear the 
sight of so much unrelieved suffering Mr. Gilder volunteered as a nurse, 
although he had never had the disease, and entering on his task himself 
died with the malady on April 13, 1864. He was given a military 
funeral, at which the whole of Hancock's Division turned out to do him 
honor. To him his gifted son, Richard Watson Gilder, thus refers in 
his poem, "Pro Patria" : 

Comrades ! To-day a tear-wet garland I would bring, 

But one song let me sing, 
For one sole hero of my heart and desolate home : 

Come with me, comrades, come ! 

Bring your glad flowers, your flags, for this one humble grave ; 

For soldiers, he was brave ! 
Though fell not he before the cannon's thunderous breath, 

Yet noble was his death. 

True soldier of his country and the sacred cross. 

He counted gain not loss ; 
Perils and nameless horrors of the embattled field 

While he had help to yield. 

But not where mid wild cheers the awful battle broke, 

A hell of fire and smoke, 
He to heroic death went forth with soul elate. 

Harder his lonely fate. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



171 



Searching where most was needed, worst of all endured, 

Sufferers he found immured. 
Tented apart because of fatal, foul disease — 

Balm brought he unto these. 

Celestial balm, the spirit's holy ministry- 
He brought, and only he. 

Where men who blanched not at the battle's shell and shot, 
Trembled and entered not. 

Yet life to him was oh, most dear — home, children, wife — 

But, dearer still than life. 
Duty — that passion of the soul which from the sod 

Alone lifts man to God. 

The pest house entering fearless — stricken, he fearless fell, 

Knowing that all was well ; 
The high, mysterious Power whereof mankind has dreams. 

To him not distant seemed. 

So, nobly died this unknown hero of the war ; 

And heroes near and far. 
Sleep now in graves like his, unfound in song or story — 

But theirs is more than glory. 

PROF. FRANK F. ABBOTT. 

Frank Frost Abbott, the son of Thaddeus Marvin and Mary Jane 
Abbott, was born in Redding Centre at the homestead, where his father 
and grandfather lived before him, and which he now occupies as a sum- 
mer home, on March 27, i860. He received his education in the district 
school of Redding, in Albany, in Yale University, from which he was 
graduated as salutatorian of the class of 1882, and in the University of 
BerHn. In 189 1 'he was made Doctor of Philosophy by Yale Univer- 
sity, in which institution he had been an instructor for several years. In 
the autumn of the year mentioned he accompanied President Harper to 
Chicago to assist in the organization of the newly founded University of 
Chicago, being the first member of the faculty chosen in that institution. 
He is now Professor of Latin there. In his department he has special- 
ized in palaeography, epigraphy, and Roman history, and in view of this 
fact was made American Professor in the School of Classical Studies in 
Rome in 1901-2. Most of his published work has been in one or another 
of the fields above mentioned. It consists of the Selected Letters of 



1^2 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Cicero, a treatise on Roman Political Institutions, a History of Rome, 
The Toledo Manuscript of the Germania of Tacitus, scientific articles in 
the American Journal of Philology, the Archiv fiir lateinische Lexiko- 
graphie, the Classical Reviezv, and Classical Philology, and more popular 
papers on Roman literary history in the Yale Review, the New England 
Magazine, the Nation, and other periodicals. He is one of the editors 
of Classical Philology, a quarterly journal devoted to research in classical 
antiquity. 

PROF. MYRON R. SANFORD. 

Prof. Myron R. Sanford, born in Redding and attended Redding In- 
stitute until he entered business with his father. In Wesleyan Univer- 
sity, 1876-80. In charge of the Classical Department of Wyoming Sem- 
inary, Kingston, Penn., from 1880 to 1886. Assistant Professor of 
Latin, Haver ford College, 1886-7. Professor of Latin, Haverford Col- 
lege, 1887-90. Dean of the College and Professor of Latin, 1890-93. 
Travel and study in the summer of 1892, in Germany and Italy. 1893-4, 
student in Classical Philology in the University of Leipsic; 1894, student 
of Archaeology in Rome. Professor of the Latin Language and Litera- 
ture in Middlebury College, 1894-1906. Author of "Temporibus Hominis 
Arpinatis" ; contributor to magazines, etc. 

PROF. AARON L. TREADWELL. 

Prof. Aaron L. Treadwell was born in Redding, December 23, 1866. 
Educated in the public schools and in Miss Abbie Sanford's private 
school at Redding Centre, and prepared for college at Staples Academy, 
Easton, Conn. Graduated with B. A. at Wesleyan University, Middle- 
town, in 1888; Assistant in Natural History at Wesleyan, 1888-91; M. 
A., ibid, 1890; Professor of Biology and Geology, Miami University, 
Oxford, Ohio, 189 1 -1900; Fellow, University of Chicago, 1892-96 and 
1897-8; Ph. D., University of Chicago, 1899; Prof, of Biology, Vassar 
College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 1900, which position he now holds. Mem- 
ber of the staff of instructors of the Marine Biological Laboratory, 
Wood's Holl, Mass., since 1898. Has published many zoological articles 
in scientific journals. 

DAVID S. FAIRCHILD. 

Dean of the Medical College of Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, 
is of good old Redding stock, being the son of Eli, the son of David, the 
son of John, who was the son of Abraham Fairchild, who came to Red- 
ding in 1746 from Norwalk. The latter's son John, born in 1764, was a 
soldier of the Revolution, and it is said of Abraham that he had at one 
time six sons in that historic struggle. 




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HISTORY OF REDDING. 



173 



Dr. Fairchild was born in Fairfield, Vt., whither his father removed 
about 1844. He attended the academies of FrankHn and Barre, Vt., 
after which he studied medicine for a time with Dr. J. O. Cramton of 
Fairfield, then attended medical lectures at the University of Michigan, 
during the years 1866, 1867 and 1868. Following his graduation at Al- 
bany, N. Y., December, 1868, he located in High Forest, Minn., where 
for three years he was engaged in a gjeneral practice. He located in 
Ames, Iowa, in 1872. In 1877 he was appointed physician to the Iowa 
Agricultural College, and in 1879 was elected professor of physiology 
and comparative anatomy, which position he held until 1893, when he 
resigned to accept the position of surgeon for the Chicago & Northwest- 
ern R. R., covering all the lines of that system in the state. He had served 
as local surgeon for this road in 1884, and through his satisfactory per- 
formance of the work was promoted two years later to district surgeon; 
in 1897 he was appointed special examining surgeon for the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul railway system; in 1882 he was elected professor 
of histology and pathology in the Iowa College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons, Des Moines, and in 1885 was transferred to the chair of pathology 
and diseases of the nervous system ; in 1886 he was given the chair of 
theory and practice, after which time no change was made until his elec- 
tion to the deanship. For two years previous to the incorporation of the 
college as a part of Drake University he served as its president. The 
doctor was engaged in general practice for some sixteen years, but for 
the past eleven years has devoted himself almost exclusively to consulta- 
tion, giving particular attention to surgery and nervous diseases. He 
has contributed numerous articles to the medical journals, and his papers 
have attracted wide attention in the various medical societies. He has 
always taken a great interest in medical organizations. In 1873 he issued 
a call to the profession of Story County to meet for the purpose of form- 
ing a county medical society, and, at the organization, was elected its 
president. In 1874 he assisted materially in organizing the Central Dis- 
trict Medical Society, and in 1886 was made its president. He became 
a member of the Iowa State Medical Society in 1874, was elected second 
vice-president in 1886, first vice-president in 1894, and president in 1895. 
He is active in the work of the Western Surgical and Gynecological As- 
sociation, and fills the position of president; is prominent in the Ameri- 
can Medical Association, the National Association of Railway Surgeons, 
and the American Academy of Railway Surgeons. He was a delegate 
to the International Medical Congress in 1876; assisted in organizing the 
Iowa Academy of Sciences, and was chairman of the committee appoint- 
ed by the State Medical Society to prepare a history of m.edicine in Iowa. 
Dr. Fairchild was elected Dean of the IMedical Department of Drake 
University in 1903, which position he has since held. 



I 74 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

RICHARD HILL LYON. 

Richard Hill Lyon, a leading citizen and veteran newspaper worker 
of South Bend, Ind., is a native of Redding. He was born on the old 
Hill-Lyon estate, a short distance south of the village, December 20, 
1848. His parents were Capt. Eli, 2d, and Louise Winton Lyon, and 
he is therefore connected with several of the old and influential fami- 
lies of Fairfield county, including those of Hill, Hull, Beach, Hawley, 
Sanford, Read, Beardsley, Winton, Seeley, and others. In 1856 he 
went with his parents to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where the family remained 
for four years on the farm of Samuel B. Read, a former resident of Red- 
ding. There Richard attended the common schools and also the State 
Normal. In i860 another move was made to the western part of Michi- 
gan in Van Buren county, where Capt. Lyon settled on a new farm. 
There the lad experienced all the hardships as well as the charms of life 
in the wilderness. There he became an apprentice in the village printing 
office at Decatur, and finished his trade in Chicago. In 1874 he located 
in South Bend, Ind., entering the mechanical department of the South 
Bend Daily Tribune, then a new enterprise in the field of Indiana journal- 
ism. For over 30 years he was connected with that institution, rising 
by his own merits from the printer's case to the editorial chair. He 
relinquished the latter position late in the year 1905, owing to failing 
health, but is still a member of the stafif of the Tribune as special writer, 
and his contributions in the editorial column, as well as those of a legen- 
dary, historcial and reminiscential character, are highly interesting. He 
is the author of many works of local history, the most pretentious of 
which is an illustrated work, "La Salle in the Valley of the St. Joseph." 
which he wrote in conjunction with Charles H. Bartlett, and which gives 
a .thrilling account of the adventures of the great French explorer in 
the vicinity of South Bend in 1679. He was the first white man to set 
foot on the soil of Indiana. Mr. Lyon is a vigorous as well as an orig- 
inal writer, and his efforts, covering a variety of subjects, are eagerly 
read and widely copied by the press. He is a popular member of society, 
a talented vocalist, and has given much attention to the advancement of 
the cause of music in South Bend and in the state. He has composed 
much creditable music of the sacred order. With his estimable wife, 
known for her charitable and church work and social activities, Mr. 
Lyon lives in an attractive residential part of the city, where he has a 
picturesque home on a high terrace, modeled after the quaint old Hill 
homestead in North End, and the place is known as Redding Ridge. 




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HISTORY OF REDDING. 



ALBERT B. HILL. 



175 



Albert Banks Hill was born at Redding, Conn., May 28th, 1847. -Al- 
bert Banks Hill and Arthur Bradley Hill were twins ; and the youngest 
of seven children of Bradley Hill and Betsey (Banks) Hill. 

Bradley Hill's mother was the niece of Joel Barlow, LL. D., poet, 
author and diplomat; who was born in Redding, Conn., in 1754, and died 
in Poland in 1812. Albert Banks Hill was the son of Bradley Hill of 
Redding, Conn., who was the son of William Hill of Fairfield, Conn., 
who was the son of Moses Hill of Fairfield, Conn., who was the son of 
Joseph Hill of Fairfield, Conn., who was the son of William Hill of 
Fairfield, Conn., who was the son of William Hill of Fairfield, Conn., who 
was the son of William Hill of Fairfield, Conn., who came over from 
England in 1632, twelve years after the Mayflower, and finally settled 
in Fairfield, Conn. It is recorded that "he was a man of note among the 
■colonists." 

Mr. Hill attended the common schools of Redding and prepared him- 
self for college with the aid of one term at private school. In 1866 he 
entered the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale and graduated as Ph. B. 
with the Class of 1869. In 1870-1871, he was instructor in Mechanics 
and Surveying, Yale, S. S. S., and received degree of C. E. In 1871 he 
entered the City Engineer's Department, New Haven, Conn., and was 
put in charge of the party on Survey of the City of New Haven. In 
1872 he was made Assistant Engineer in charge of sewer construction ; 
and from 1883 to 1892 was City Engineer of New Haven. Since 1892 
he has been in private practice as Civil and Consulting Engineer, with 
office at New Haven, Conn. 

Mr. Hill has held the following offices: 1883-1892, City Engineer, 
New Haven, Conn.; 1892, Director American , Society Civil Engineers; 
1905, President Connecticut Society Civil Engineers. He is a member 
of the following societies and clubs : Graduates Club, New Haven, 
•Conn. ; Chamber of Commerce, New Haven, Conn. ; Connecticut Aca- 
demy of Arts and Sciences, Connecticut Society Civil Engineers, Ameri- 
<:an Society Civil Engineers, New England Water Works Association, 
Finance Committee, Organized Charities Association of New Haven, 
Conn. 

Some of the Engineering Works designed by Mr. Hill and executed 
under his direction as Engineer, were : The swing bridge over Norwalk 
River at South Norwalk; the steel arch bridges over Mill River, New 
Haven; over Lake Whitney, Hamden; over Lieutenant River, Lyme. 
The suspension bridge over Lake Whitney, 270 feet span, for New 
Haven Country Club. The stone arch bridges, East Rock Park. Rein- 
forced Concrete arches, in Cheshire, Hamden, Waterbury, and over 



I 76 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Ash Creek, Bridgeport. Electric Railway bridges on various lines radi- 
ating from New Haven. Park drives : The East Rock, West Rock, and 
Beacon Hill Park Drives, New Haven Public Park system. Portions of 
the New Haven sewerage system ; sewerage systems for Danbury, and 
for Shelton, Conn. ; disposal works for Litchfield, Conn. ; Outfall system, 
Greenwich, Conn. Electric Railways : Norwalk to South Norwalk ; 
South Norwalk to Roton Point; Norwalk to Winnipauk; New Haven 
to Bridgeport ; Bridgeport to Fairfield and Southport ; New Haven to 
Derby; New Haven to Cheshire; Cheshire to Waterbury; Cheshire to 
Milldale; New Haven to Wallingford ; New Haven to East Haven; 
Palmer to Ludlow, ]\Iass. Water Works: As Consulting Engineer to 
The New Haven Water Company, the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company, 
and the Greenwich Water Company ; the design of the recent reservoir 
dams of these corporations. The Saltonstall tunnel of The New Haven 
Water Company, one-third of a mile long under the Saltonstall Ridge. 
The construction of the Filtration Plant of The New Haven Water Com- 
pany. 

ISAAC NEWTON BARTRAM. 

Isaac Newton Bartram was born in Redding, March 25, 1838. Son 
of Isaac Hamilton Bartram and grandson of Isaac Bartram, an artificer 
of the Revolution, enlisting from Redding and serving through the war. 
His mother was Lydia Piatt, daughter of Isaac Piatt, who also served 
through the Revolution as an artificer from Redding. 

Mr. Bartram has held many public offices in Sharon, Conn., where 
he settled in 1865. Representative from Sharon in the General Assem- 
bly in 1868, '72, '76, '86, '87, 91, and in the State Senate from the 19th 
District in 1889-90. He was appointed Commissioner of Putnam Camp 
in 1887 by Governor Lounsbury, and was re-appointed by Governor 
Bulkley and by Governor Morris, holding the office eight years. While 
a representative in 1887, Mr. Bartram introduced the resolution for re- 
storing Putnam's old winter quarters. He married Miss Helen Dorothy 
Winan of Sharon. Their children were, two boys, who died in infancy, 
Phebe M., who married Charles Rockman Pancoast and resides in Phila- 
delphia, and Blanche W., who married Henry R. Moore, who died in 
1905. 

THEODORE C. SHERWOOD. 

Theodore C. Sherwood, son of Moses and Elizabeth Taylor Sher- 
wood, was born in Redding, Connecticut, January 3rd, i860. Educated 
in the common schools of Foundry District No. 10 and at Redding In- 
stitute. Began business life at the age of sixteen with Sanford & White- 
head, general merchants at Redding Ridge, and remained in their employ 







Photo by H. J. Kcniicl. 
RESIDENCE OF GOYN ADDISON TALMAGE. 
Glen Neisrhborliood. 




Photo b\ I'roJ. John //. Sit'>itc\ey 
LIVING ROOM-NORTH SIUE. 
Showing chimney one hundred and fifty years old. 




Photo hy I'lof. John II. X/.-nicycr 
LIVIXG ROOM — EAST SIl»lv 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



1/7 



for one and a half years, after which he was a school teacher for three 
terms in Newtown, Conn., and his native town. Was graduated at 
Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in February, 1879, 
and remained on the farm teaching school until April, 1880, when he 
broke the home ties, so strong in all rural New England communities, 
and started west. Until August, 1881, he wandered through the states 
of Michigan, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa, without becoming 
permanently settled. Having satisfied his Yankee curiosity in Jooking 
over the Great West, and his small capital run down to a single fifty-cent 
piece and fifteen hundred miles from home, on August 8th, 1881, he 
secured employment as station clerk on the Burlington Railroad at Pacif- 
ic Junction, twenty miles south of Council Blufifs, Iowa, their key to the 
great Trans-Missouri Territory, then at the high tide of its immigration. 
The bridge between Pacific Junction, Iowa, and Plattsmouth, Nebr., was 
the only one at that time across the Missouri River north of Kansas 
City, except the Union Pacific Bridge between Council Bluffs and Omaha. 
At this place he remained until October, 1888, having succeeded in mak- 
ing himself a pretty good railroad man, it is to be presumed, as he was 
soon rewarded with promotion. 

In October, 1888, he was offered the Superintendency of the Des 
Moines & Kansas City Railroad at Des Moines, Iowa, which he accepted 
and held until January, 1896, when being offered the position of Assist- 
ant Gen'l Manager of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf R. R. (now 
the K. C. S.), then under construction from Kansas City, Mo., to Sabine 
Pass, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico, he accepted and held the position 
until April, 1897, when he was made General Manager in charge of con- 
struction of its allied lines north of Kansas City. January ist, 1898, af- 
ter nearly seventeen years of pretty constant and strenuous railroading, 
Mr. Sherwood concluded "to go off the track," as he expressed it, and 
resigned his position to go into business for himself, which he did, asso- 
ciating himself with two others in a partnership for the purpose of whole- 
sale dealing in lumber under the name of the Crescent Lumber Com- 
pany. Starting it new, the three have succeeded in building up a large 
and prosperous business. 

Mr. Sherwood was married, October 23rd, 1894, at Eddyville, Iowa, 
to Miss Mary W^illiams, still living. They have two sons, Theodore, Jr., 
born May 15th, 1896, and John, born February 8th, 1898. 

In a letter to the author Mr. Sherwood adds : 

"As to my success, I feel I have succeeded, although in these days 
what constitutes success is a much mooted question — money being the 
standard largely used. If success is having a happy family and being 
happy with them, succeeding in accomplishing the things that one starts 
out to do at various times in life, being in a position to educate one's 



1^8 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

children, living without the pinch for necessities staring one in the face, 
having a comfortable home with good health and in good fellowship 
with all the world, is success, I am pleased to say I have been a success. 
New England people transplanted do well most anywhere, if trans- 
planting is not done too late or too early. There is to my mind a right 
time, 1 8 to 25 years of age being best. But any New England young 
man who has but little money, no acquaintance and no influence, who 
starts out 1,500 miles from home, or contemplates doing so, should make 
up his mind that he has a man's work before him, and work that de- 
mands about sixteen hours per day of constant attention. The idea of 
a good time laid aside for quite a season, temperate in his habits and his 
word to be depended upon absolutely at all times. In my struggle, 
many a time the panorama of the rocky hillsides of old Redding appeared 
to me in my homesickness, and during such times those old hillsides look- 
ed pretty good to me. But the old Puritan idea of having started out 
once to do what you believed right and not quit until it was accomplish- 
ed, sustained me, and I persevered. And while I shall always think of 
and keep in mind my birthplace, I must confess that I am glad I trans- 
planted myself when I did." 

DUDLEY SANFORD GREGORY. 

Dudley Sanford Gregory, Mayor of Jersey City, N. J., and quite 
prominent in the affairs of that city for many years, was a native of Red- 
ding, a descendant of the Sanford and other prominent families. 

Attorney General Bates of Missouri, was of Redding ancestry. 

In the several professions Redding has been well represented. Dr. 
Asahel Fitch, the first physician who settled in the town, is remembered 
in Fairfield County as a worthy man, and one of its most respectable 
practitioners of medicine. He was among the principal pioneers in the 
formation of the County Society, but died soon after its organization. 
His death occurred in 1792, or about that period. I understand that he 
was the grandfather of Professor Knight, of Yale College. 

Among the physicians of Fairfield County who enjoyed a long and 
successful practice was Dr. Thomas Davies, of Redding. He removed 
to Redding in 1793, on the decease of Dr. Fitch, and there continued in 
the duties of his profession until his death, which occurred in 1831. Dr. 
Davies possessed the reputation of being among the first of the physi- 
cians of the county who assumed regularly obstetrical duties, and so 
successful were his labors, that he became particularly eminent in that 
department. 

The doctor was once summoned as an important witness to appear 
before the Court in Fairfield, and not appearing, the sheriff was sent to 



I 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



179 



compel his attendance. Being absent, and learning on his return that 
the officer was awaiting at a pubHc-house in the vicinity, he without no- 
tice to the official rode to Fairfield, and appeared before the Court. On 
the question occurring with the Court regarding the costs attending the 
capias, he requested one or two of his legal friends to excuse the delin- 
quency. The judge decided, notwithstanding, that the law must be ob- 
served and that the doctor must bear the expenses. Dr. D. then request- 
ed a hearing in his own behalf, which being granted, remarked: "May 
it please the Court : I am a good citizen of the State, and since I was sum- 
moned to attend this Court I have introduced three other good citizens 
into it." * The Court replied, that for so good a plea, he would leave the 
parties to pay the expenses. 

Bishop Thomas F. Davies was the only male descendant of Dr. 
Davies. 

Among the later practitioners of the town. Dr. Charles Gorham was 
very widely known and respected. He was the son of Meeker Gorham 
and Elizabeth Hubbell, of Greenfield Hill, in the town of Fairfield. He 
began the study of medicine with Dr. Jehiel Williams, of New Milford, 
and afterward pursued his studies at the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons in New York. He settled in Redding in 1816, at the age of twen- 
ty-one years, and practised as a physician and surgeon in Fairfield Coun- 
ty forty-two years. He married Mary, daughter of William King Com- 
stock, of Danbury. Dr. Gorham is described as a man of more than 
ordinary strength of character, with a well-balanced mind and sound 
judgment. He was fond of scientific investigations, and was remarkable 
for close observation and power of analysis. He died at his residence 
in Redding Centre, September 15th, 1859. 

Dr. Moses Wakeman succeeded Dr. Gorham, and until his death, Jan- 
uary 6, 1892, enjoyed an extensive and lucrative practice. He was born 
in Fairfield, November, 1829. Studied medicine with his uncle, Dr. Na- 
thaniel Wheeler, of Paterson, N. Y., for three years, during which period 
"he attended two full courses of lectures at the New Haven Medical Col- 
lege, from which institution he received the degree of M. D. After 
practicing four years in Putnam County, N. Y., on invitation of Dr. 
Charles Gorham, Dr. Wakeman, in 1858, formed a partnership with him 
which continued until the latter's death in 1859. On May 31, 1864, Dr. 
Wakeman was married to Harriet White, daughter of Samuel and Mary 
(Sanford) Collins of Redding. Their children were, Mary Collins, 
Henry W. (deceased), and Harriet Wheeler. Mary Collins married Dr. 
Ernest H. Smith, April 9, 1890. They have two boys, Herman White 
and Homer Morgan. 

*FroTn an Address before the Connecticut Medical Convention, in 1853, by 
Rufus Blakeman, M. D. 



I ^,o HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Dr. Ernest H. Smith was born in 1863; prepared for college at the 
Boston Latin School; graduated at Amherst College, 1885, and at the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in 1889. Saw six 
months service in the Emigrant Hospital on Ward's Island, and in 1890 
settled in Redding, where he has since remained in the practice of his 
profession. 

Among the later practitioners of the town Dr. Annie M. Read, now 
retired, enjoyed an extensive practice in this and adjoining towns. She 
graduated from the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in 1865, from the 
Woman's Aledical College of the New York Infirmary in 1877, and after 
six months hospital practice began a general medical practice in Redding, 
from which she retired in 1904. 

Among clergymen may be enumerated the following : Rev. Justus 
Hull, Rev. Lemuel Hull, Bishop Thomas F. Davies ; Rev. William T. 
Hill, former Presiding Elder of New Haven District; Rev. Aaron K. 
Sanford, at one time Presiding Elder of Poughkeepsie District, New 
York Conference; Rev. Aaron S. Hill, Rev. Morris Hill, Rev. Moses 
Hill, Rev. Hawley Sanford, Rev. Aaron Sanford, Rev. Morris Sanford, 
Rev. A. B. Sanford, Rev. Piatt Treadwell, Rev. Albert Miller, Rev. 
Leroy Stowe, and Rev. Joseph Hill. Several of these have attained 
eminence in their chosen profession. The Rev. Arthur B. Sanford, after 
fitting for college at Reading Institute, graduated from Wesleyan Uni- 
versity and entered the Methodist ministry. After filling important ap- 
pointments, he was, in 1890, chosen assistant editor of the Methodist Re- 
vieiv, filling the chair acceptably until 1900, when he again entered the 
pastorate. He has been Secretary of the New York East Conference 
for many years, and has served on important boards and committees, 
(For sketch, see Sanford Family, Chapter XXIV.) 

The Rev. William T. Hill has been in the New York East Confer- 
ence for fifty-one years, and still preaches occasionally. He has held 
many important appointments and from 1876 to 1879 was Presiding 
Elder of the New Haven District, and from 1880 to 1883 of the New 
York East District. He was pastor in Redding in 1884. 

The Rev. Albert Miller, D. D., graduated from the University of 
Michigan at Ann Arbor, with the degree of A. M., and later received 
the degree of D. D. from Illinois Wesleyan University. He has had 
several offers at various times to enter the educational field, but remained 
in the Methodist ministry, choosing Iowa for his field of labor, until last 
year, when he accepted the appointment of agent for Cornell College in 
California. He has been Presiding Elder and has filled other important 
appointments on Conference boards and committees, and in the pastorate. 

The Rev. Arthur J. Smith, the popular pastor of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church in Danbury, spent a portion of his boyhood in Redding, 




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HISTORY OF REDDING. igl 

his father, the Rev. Joseph Smith, having been pastor here for three 
years from 1874. Rev. Arthur Smith graduated from Wesleyan Aca- 
demy, Mass., in the business course, in 1874; from Hackettstown, N. J., 
in 1882, in the coUege preparatory course, and from Drew Theological 
Seminary in 1885. In 1906 i'rovidence University, Ohio, conferred the 
degree of D. D. Since joining the ministry in 1885 he has held some of 
the most important pastorates in the gift of his Conference. 

The following State Senators have been natives or citizens of Red- 
ding: Thomas B. Fanton, elected in 1841 ; Lemuel Sanford, 1847; Cor- 
tez Merchant, 1855; Francis A. Sanford, 1865; James Sanford, 1870; 
Jonathan R. Sanford, 1877 ; Isaac N. Bartram, 1890. 

Thomas Sanford, former High Sheriff of the county, and at one time 
nominee of the Democratic party for Comptroller of the State ; Henry 
Sanford, formerly president of Adams Express Company, and Aaron 
Sanford, of Newtown, formerly High Sheriff of Fairfield Counly, were 
natives of Reddinef. 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Summer Colony. 

Who among city residents was the lirst to discover the beauties of 
Redding and build a summer house here is an interesting question. The 
distinction, no doubt, belongs to Frederick Driggs of New York, who, 
in 1900, bought a tract of land in the Foundry District and built in the 
greenwood near the banks of the Aspetuck a hunting lodge of logs hewn 
from the neighboring forest. Mr. and Mrs. Driggs are fond of hunting 
and fishing and what time he can snatch from business is spent largely 
in this unique forest home. J. W. Teets, of New York, came next, buy- 
ing, in 1901, of Mrs. Edward P. Shaw, a lot south of her house, and 
erecting thereon a pretty colonial dwelling after plans by Ralph S. Town- 
send, a New York architect. Soon after, Frank Dunell, of New York, 
bought the Henry Whitehead place on Redding Ridge, and has improved 
and remodeled it, making of it an attractive country seat. Mr. Dunell 
is an enthusiast in photography and has a fine collection of photographs 
of Redding landscapes taken by himself. 

The following is believed to be a complete list of summer resi- 
dents, in addition to those named above, now (August, 1906) in 
Redding, given, not in the order of their coming, but according to 
locality: Noble Hoggson. of New York, in the old Hull Bradley 
place, east of the Ridge, one of the stately old homes of Redding, 



1 82 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

which he has greatly beautified and improved. The interior decora- 
tions of this house are exceptionally rich and elegant. A short 
distance east John Stetson of New York, bought the Hiram Jennings 
place, built, it is said, by Lazarus Beach, son of the Rev. John Beach,* 
and is making it into a beautiful country home. Last year Daniel San- 
ford bought the Thomas Ryan house and farm, formerly Deacon Lemuel 
Hawley's, and is making extensive improvements therein. A wing is 
being added on each end, and the interior is being remodeled and fitted 
with sanitary plumbing and all modern improvements. When fitted it 
will be used as a school room and dormitory in winter, and as the Ridge 
Inn in summer. On Couch's Hill, a mile north of the Ridge, Lester O. 
Peck bought the large Simon Couch farm and built on it a handsome 
cottage in colonial style, from plans by a New York architect. Mr. 
Peck has since bought the farms adjoining him of Ralph Mead and J. 
W. Sanford, and is one of the largest owners of real estate in Redding. 
On the lower slope of Redding Ridge, Jeanette Gilder, editor of the 
Critic, bought the old Floyd Tucker place and does much of her literary 
work there. On the west side in Sanfordtown, Jesse B. Cornwall of 
Bridgeport, bought a tract south of George Sanford's and built on the 
crest of the hill an elegant stone cottage in extensive grounds. 

The Beers farm, diagonally across the road from George Sanford's 
has recently been sold to Francis Forman Sherman. Goyn A. Talmage 
bought the old Hezekiah Hull farm, near the former Hull district school 
house, and retaining the old stone chimney built around it a pretty sum- 
mer cottage, preserving the ancient colonial style, and the huge fire- 
place in which an ox might be roasted w^hole. On the same road a 
short distance west toward the Glen, Francis V. Warner, editor of Pear- 
son's Magazine, has bought the old Andrew's place and will have it re- 
built for a summer home. In the Glen, Henry M. Dater, of the New 
York Bar, built and has occupied for several seasons a log cabin some- 
thing like that of his friend, Frederick Driggs, in the Aspetuck Valley. 
Farther up the Saugatuck Valley, Albert Bigelow Paine, the well known 
author, bought and remodeled the old Bouton place. Diagonally across 
from him, a few hundred yards away, stands the old John Davis home- 
stead, later occupied by Noah Sherwood, which, with the farm of about 
one hundred acres connected with it, was bought in 1906 by Samuel L. 
Clemens (Mark Twain). Later Mr. Clemens bought nearly a hundred 
acres of fine old forest on the south, bringing his estate to the pictur- 
esque banks of the Saugatuck River, and will erect on the hill above it 
a costly stone villa of the Italian order of architecture, and which will 
be fitted for a winter as well as summer residence. 

* This distinction is also claimed for the Hull-Bradley ^)lace. 







u^ 




O 
Q 



Pi 



o 
u 



* HISTORY OF REDDING. 1 83 

On Umpawaug Hill, in West Redding, several homes and farms have 
recently been sold to New York parties for summer residences. Prof. 
, Lucius M. Underwood, of Columbia College, has transformed the Eph- 
raim Barlow homestead into a pretty summer cottage, as has his neigh- 
bor, Frank F. Ewing of New York, the old Stephen Rider place on the 
south. G. E. Clapp of New York, in the Helen Merchant place, John 
Doig of New York, in the old Benedict homestead, and Charles Moore 
of New York, in the Irad Carter place, are other new comers in this 
section, which is growing rapidly. 

In the Center, William S. Hill of New York, recently bought of Mrs. 
Harriet Wakeman the lot between Dr. Smith's and the Methodist par- 
sonage and will build soon a handsome cottage thereon. Howard Am- 
ory of New York, has recently bought of Joseph Squires some twenty 
acres adjoining Miss Burgess on the north, and will build thereon soon it 
is said. Mrs. Janet O. Thompson has also bought of Joseph Squires the 
corner lot, store and house, for many years occupied by David Johnson 
for store, post offiice and dwelling house. 

Henry Ruff, who in 1905 purchased the old Squires homestead in the 
Center, sold it to Charles Singer of New York at double the original 
cost. 

Half a mile north of the Center, Edward Deacon of Bridgeport, has 
bought three farms, those of the late Walter Edmonds, Jesse Sherwood^ 
and Isaac Piatt adjoining, and is making extensive improvements in the 
first named with a view, it is said, of becoming a permanent resident. 

The lofty ridges in Loantown, in the northern part of the town, af- 
fording some of the finest views in the world, still remain largely in the 
hands of the original owners, who have not placed them on the market. 
One of the most attractive of these, the Aaron M. Read place, was sold 
in 1905 to Abraham G. Barnett, a wealthy manufacturer of Pittsburg, 
Penn., who, it is said, will shortly become a resident. 

Early in 1906, Miss Mary A. Rushton, of New York, opened in the 
house formerly owned by Prof. Shaw on Redding Ridge, the Ridge Inn, 
which proved so attractive to the best people that it is to be kept open as 
a winter resort as well. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The Literary Colony. 

For several years past American authors have showed a predilection 
for Redding, the movement culminating perhaps with Mr. Clemens' 
choice of it as the home of his declining years ; so that it may with truth 



1^^. HISTORY OF REDDING. 

be said that Redding has a Hterary colony. Brief sketches of its mem- 
bers can but be of interest to the pubhc. 

Samuel L. Clemens was born in Florida, Mo., Nov. 30, 1835 ; appren- 
ticed to the printer's trade; was a Mississippi pilot for a short time; be- 
came city editor of the Virginia City (Mo.) Enterprise. Alternated be- 
tween mining and newspaper work until becoming noted as a humorist 
he began lecturing and writing books. His works are: The Jumping 
Frog, 1867; The Innocents Abroad, 1869; Autobiography and First 
Romance, 1871 ; The Gilded Age, 1873, (with the late C. D. Warner) ; 
Roughing It, 1872; Sketches, New and Old, 1873; Adventures of Tom 
Sawyer, 1876; Punch, Brothers, Punch, 1878; A Tramp Abroad, 1880; 
The Prince and the Pauper, 1880; The Stolen White Elephant, 1882; 
Life on the Mississippi, 1883; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 
1885; A Yankee at the Court of King James, 1889; The American 
Claimant, 1892; Merry Tales, 1892; The £1,000,000 Bank Note, 1892; 
Puddinhead Wilson, 1894; Tom Sawyer Abroad, 1894; Joan of Arc, 
1896; Following the Equator, 1898; The Man that Corrupted Hadley- 
burg, 1900; A Double-Barrelled Detective Story, 1902; Christian 
Science, 1903. 

Richard Watson Gilder, born in Bordentown, N. J., Feb. 8, 1844. 
Educated at St. Thomas Hall, Flushing, a seminary established by his 
father. Was a private in Landis' Philadelphia Battery in the Emergency 
Campaign in Pennsylvania in 1863 ; then in the railroad service for two 
years. Entered newspaper work as managing editor of the Newark 
(N. J.) Advertiser, and later with Newton Crane founded the Newark 
Register. Later edited Hours at Home, a New York Monthly, was 
managing editor, Scribner's Magazine, 1870, and editor-in-chief since 
1881, under its present name of the Century. Mr. Gilder's books 
(poems) are, The New Day, 1875-6; Five Books of Song, 1894; In 
Palestine, 1898; Poems and Inscriptions, 1901. Mr. Gilder spent a year 
in Redding in his youthful days, his father, the Rev. William H. Gilder, 
having been pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church here, and is still 
a frequent visitor. "The most vivid memories I have of Redding," he 
said in a chat with the writer recently, "are of going over to meet my 
old French tutor who came from Danbury to give me a lesson every day, 
of walking back with him, and of the chats by the way." 

Jeanette Leonard Gilder, born at St. Thomas Hall, Flushing, N. Y., 
Oct. 3, 1844. When eighteen years of age became a writer on the New- 
wark (N. J.) Morning Register, and Newark reporter for the New York 
Tribune. Later she was associated with her brother, Richard Watson 
Gilder, in the editorial department of Scribner's monthly (now the Cen- 
tury Magazine). From 1875 to 1880 she was literary editor, and later 
musical and dramatic editor of the New York Herald. In January, 1881, 




Photo by C. B. Todd. 

Old Davis-Sherwood Homestead, recently bought by Mark Twain. Mr. 
Clemens' estate extends nearly half a mile south of this and at the extreme 
southerly portion he will l)uilt a villa of the Italian order of architecture, 
fitted for both summer ami winter residence. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 1 85 

she, with her younger brother, Joseph B. Gilder, started the Critic Maga- 
zine, which she still edits. Over the pen name "Brunswick" she was for 
eighteen years New York correspondent of the Boston Saturday Even- 
ing Gazette and Boston Evening Transcript. She is the author of Tak- 
en by Siege, 1886-1896, and The Autobiography of A Tom-Boy, 1900, 
(some of the scenes of the latter were taken from her experiences in 
Redding), and editor of many other works. Miss Gilder owns a pretty 
cottage on Redding Ridge, and most of her vacation hours are spent in 
the old town where she lived as a child. 

Joseph B. Gilder, born in Flushing, N. Y., June 29, 1858, entered the 
United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., 1872; resigned in 1874. 
Was a reporter in Newark, N. J., 1874-7, reporter and assistant city edi- 
tor N. Y. Herald, 1870- 1880. In 1881, with his sister, started the Critic 
Magazine, of which he was co-editor for twenty-one years. From 1893 
to 1901 he was president of the Critic Company. Mr. Gilder has written 
much in prose and verse for the magazines, and has edited many im- 
portant works. As soon as a suitable site in Redding can be secured, 
it is said Mr. Gilder will erect a cottage thereon. 

Albert Bigelow Paine, assistant editor St. Nicholas magazine since 
June, 1899, was born in New Bedford, Mass., July 10, 1861, began his 
literary career by contributing to magazines. He is the author of 
;"Rhymes by Two Friends" (with William Allen White), 1893; "The 
Mystery of Eveline Delorme," 1894; "Gobolinks" (with Ruth McEnery 
Stuart), 1896: "The Dumpies," 1897; "The Autobiography of a Mon- 
key," 1897; "The Hollow Tree," 1898; "The Arkansaw Bear," 1898: 
"The Deep Woods," 1899; "The Beacon Prize Medals," 1899; "The 
Bread Line," 1900; "The Little Lady, The Book," 1901 ; "The Vrm 
Dwellers," 1901 ; "The Great White Way," 190 1 ; and a biography of the 
late Thomas Nast. 

Ida M. Tarbell may be said to belong to the Redding Colony, al- 
though the fine old farm house she recently purchased for a summer home 
is in Easton, a few yards from the Redding line. She was born in Erie 
County, Penn., Nov. 5, 1857, graduated from Titusville High School, 
and Alleghany College at Meadville, Penn. ; was associate editor of the 
Chautauquan, 1883-91. Studied in Paris at the Sorbonne and College 
of France, 1891-4. From 1894 to 1906 editor on the staff of McClure's 
Magazine. In 1906, with other editors, resigned from McClure's and 
purchased the American Magazine. She is author of "A Short Life of 
Napoleon Bonaparte," 1895; "Life of Madame Roland," 1896; "Early 
Life of Abraham Lincoln," 1896 (with J. McCann Davis) ; "Life of 
Abraham Lincoln," 1900; "A History of the Standard Oil Company," 
and of many magazine articles on history and current subjects. 



1 86 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

John Ward Stimson, artist, author and lecturer, has resided for two 
years past in the old historic Dr. Gorham, house near the Center. Was 
born in Paterson, N. J., Dec. i6, 1850; graduated at Yale, 1872, and at 
the Ecole des Beaux Ars, Paris. Became lecturer and teacher of Art at 
Princeton University ; later for four years was director of the Art Schools 
of the Metropolitan Museum, New York. In 1888 he founded the 
Artist-Artisan Institute of New York. Later was director of the Art 
and Science Institution of Trenton, N. J. Has been for some time As- 
sociate editor of the Arena, author of "The Law of Three Primaries," 
"Principles of Vital Art Education," "The Gate Beautiful," "Wander- 
ing Chords," and of many poems and articles in leading magazines and 
newspapers. 

Prof. Frank F. Abbott, of Chicago University (see sketch in Chapter 
XIX), has a summer residence in Redding, the old home of his father, 
Deacon Thaddeus M. Abbott, at the Center. 

Dora Read Goodale, widely known for her three books of poems 
(with her sister Elaine, now Mrs. Eastman), "Apple Blossoms," 1878; 
"In Berkshire with the Wild Flowers," 1879, and "All Round the Year," 
1880, resides with her mother in the former home of Walter Sanford in 
the Center. Her mother, Mrs. Dora Read Goodale, is a frequent con- 
tributor to the press. 

Prof. Lucien M. LInderwood, Professor of Botany in Columbia Uni- 
versity since 1896, was born in New Woodstock, N. Y., Oct. 26, 1863. 
Graduated, Syracuse University, 1877. Is author of "Descriptive Cata- 
logue of North American Hepaticae," 1844; "Moulds, Mildews and 
Mushrooms," 1899; "Our Native Ferns and their Allies," 1900; "Our 
Native Ferns and how to Study Them," 1901. 

Mrs. Kate V. Saint Maur has occupied for several seasons the old 
Grumman place on the West Side. Mrs. Saint Maur is the author of a 
book, "A Self-Supporting Home," which has attracted much attention. 

Miss Frances V. Warner, who has recently become a property owner 
in Redding, is by birth a Philadelphiaii, of Quaker ancestry, the first 
Philadelphia Warner having arrived there before William Penn him- 
self, — before there was a named settlement there even. She has written 
a great deal for the magazines, but as Associate Editor of Pearson's 
Magazine is far too busy with other people's writing to attempt any books 
of her own. 

William E. Grumman, a native and resident of Redding, in his first 
book, "Revolutionary Soldiers of Redding, Conn." has shown skill in 
research and fine literary ability, and will, no doubt, in the future, be- 
come well known in his chosen field. 




TROF. DAXIEL SAXFORIV 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 1 8/ 

CHAPTER XXll. 

The Redding Institute, Re-organized 1 905 as the Sanford School. 

One of the youngest and most important institutions of Redding is 
the Sanford School, a re-incarnation on broader and more modern lines 
of the old Redding Institute, which many of our citizens as well as scores 
of gray-haired graduates in every state and clime will remember. 

This school was founded in the Fall of 1847, by Daniel Sanford, M. 
A., who, after securing a thorough education at Wesleyan University 
and spending several years as a teacher in White Plains, N. Y., returned 
to Redding, built a large and well appointed school house adjoining his 
dwelling on Redding Ridge, and opened a boarding and day school for 
boys. Mr. Sanford was a man of force and character, and because of 
this and of his influential family connections, his school soon attained a 
national reputation, his forms being filled with boys from the first fami- 
lies of New York, Brooklyn, and the Southern states, with not a few 
from foreign countries. 

In 185 1 he secured the services of Edward P. Shaw, M. A., a gradu- 
ate of Wesleyan University, who continued with him as teacher until 
1867, when Mr. Sanford retired, and Mr. Shaw became principal and 
conducted the school successfully until 1873, when a family bereavement 
joined to advancing years, led him to discontinue it, although he con- 
tinued a resident of Redding until his death in 1904. 

A few years before his death the present writer called upon his old 
preceptor and in the course of conversation remarked on the number 
of notable men who had received their education in whole or in part at 
his school. 

"Yes," said he, "our boys have done pretty well. There is C. B. 
Thomas, at one time Governor of Colorado, and the silver-tongued ora- 
tor who put Bryan in nomination for the Presidency. The Rev. Charles 
E. Briggs of 'Higher Criticism' fame, was another of our scholai^s. The 
Rev. Arthur B. Sanford, prominent clergyman, and for some years as- 
sistant editor of the Methodist Revieiv; Prof. Daniel Sanford, of the 
BrookHne, Mass., High School, a leading educator; Prof. Myron R. San- 
ford, of Middlebury College, Vermont, author and lecturer; Marshall 
S. Driggs, President of the Williamsburgh Fire Insurance Company, and 
connected with many other great corporations of the Metropolis ; Fred- 
erick Benedict, of the well known jewelry firm of Benedict Brothers, on 
lower Broadway; Alfred Cammeyer, the great shoe merchant of New 
York ; Theodore Sherwood, who has been superintendent and general 
manager of several of the great western trunk lines, with scores of sue- 



J 88 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

cessful clergymen, teachers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, and business 
men, were among our graduates." 

"What a pity that we couldn't have an *old home day' and get the 
boys together again," we remarked. 

"I would welcome it," replied the old instructor. 

He is dead now and it occurred to the writer while this chapter was 
yet in embryo that a symposium of the old boys in lieu of it would be 
interesting; forthwith he broached the subject to several of the more 
prominent. 

The Rev. Charles E. Briggs replied, excusing himself because of 
press of literary work in addition to his lectures, and adding: "I would 
be glad to honor my old teacher, Mr. Shaw, but I cannot at present. I 
have stowed away some copies of the magazine the Institute used to pub- 
lish, with some of my articles, which would doubtless give a good basis 
for a paper if I had time." 

Ex-Governor Thomas' reply was in the foim of certain recollections 
making in the concrete a literary gem : 

"Though my parents were natives of Connecticut I was born and 
reared in Georgia. I was there through the war and as a lad was obliged 
to assume as well as I could the supervision of my mother's plantation, 
as all the men were at the front. Hence I had little time for school 
had it been available. So when the war ended my mother took me, at 
the age of fifteen, to her old home in Bridgeport, and in August follow- 
ing sent me to the Sanford School. I was a lank, freckled-faced country 
boy, fresh from the distant South, and painfully conscious of my awkward 
and uncouth appearance. The war had left us but little, so that my 
schooling was a heavy burden to my mother and I was clad in a suit of 
clothes constructed from a couple of second-hand rebel uniforms, rein- 
forced by a Yankee hat and pair of shoes. The stage ride from Bridge- 
port to Redding Ridge was one of the ordeals of my life. I was then a 
rebel to the core and fully alive to the fact that I was 'in the enemy's 
country.' I had bidden mother good bye and was going I knew not 
whither. Homesickness is a mild term to apply to my condition. I 
shrank from the end of the journey. I wanted to die, knowing well that 
I would not. So I sat by the driver, steeling myself to approaching fate 
and wishing I were far away in Dixie. I knew that boys were no hypo- 
crites and that my presence at school would subject me to persecutions, 
due as well to my appearance as to my origin. 

"It was dark when the stage halted before the Sanford mansion. As ' 
I alighted, Mr. Sanford met me at the gate, took me to his wife and 
asked her to make me comfortable. She tried her best, poor lady, to do 
so, but I was past all comforting. She gave me supper at her own table, 
then took me at once to my room, and thus postponed the fateful hour 



HISTORY OF REDDING. I Sq 

when I should encounter the boys. That ordeal came with the mornmg, 
and it lasted for a fortnight with many variations. I was called 'Johnny' 
because I was a rebel, and 'shorty' because I was tall, and 'dandy' be- 
cause of my clothes. All the victories of Grant and Sherman were 
thrown at me. At the same time I was held responsible for the horrors 
of Andersonville. Treason and disloyalty were my conspicuous crimes. 
It was broadly asserted that I was privy to the assassination of Lincoln, 
and one particularly devilish youngster asserted a close resemblance be- 
tween my own and the features of 'Jeff' Davis. So 'Jeff' was added to 
my list of names. 

"I endured what I could not avoid till patience was exhausted. I 
couldn't run away, for I had no place to run to. I begged my mother to 
take me away. Finally, I had a fight, and that helped a little. Then, a 
boy named Ridemour gave me a little consideration and with a grateful 
heart I strove to make myself companionable by relating some of my 
war experiences. Unconsciously I thus furnished a welcome remedy for 
my ills. He repeated some of my stories, so that curiosity usurped the 
place of malice, and I was patronized that I might tell others. So on 
Saturdays my room was filled with boys listening to anecdotes of the 
war from a boy who spoke from personal experiences. Before I knew 
it I was popular. My wickedness was discarded and my clothes were 
historic. They warmed to me in regular boy fashion, and of course I 
responded, and oh, the stories I told. From fact I rapidly descended to 
fancy. My romances were as extravagant as an immature imagination 
could make them; but, as long as they met the demand, I was happy. 
Don't you think they will be overlooked, under the circumstances, by the 
recording angel? 

"Messrs. Sanford and Shaw were excellent teachers and thoroughly 
understood boy nature. Teaching in those days was old-fashioned and 
thorough. Messrs Shaw and Sanford vigorously insisted on the learn- 
ing of lessons and the observance of rules. When a boy became derelict, 
Mr. Sanford did the 'licking,' so he was the one the boys looked out for. 
Mr. Shaw never struck a scholar. But Mr. Sanford's punishments, 
though frequent, seemed mild to me. The first time I ever saw him 
punish a scholar my amusement was audible for he struck him a solitary 
blow. Where I came from the teacher would drag a delinquent from 
his seat by the collar and trounce him with a hickor}' switch for three or 
four minutes until he cried with pain and promised 'to be good.' 

"My life has been an active one, and if I have been in a measure suc- 
cessful, it is in large measure due to the good principles and strict dis- 
cipline I had from the Sanford School." 

A well known business man of New York City, whom the writer met 
personally, gave some recollections worthy of being preserved. 



IQO 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



"My wife would not believe that I ever attended a select school, so I 
told her the first day I could get away from business I would take her 
up to Redding and show her the old school-house and the old teacher. It 
chanced that Labor Day came on Saturday that year, so we started, go- 
ing to Ridgefield, as we understood there was then no inn in Redding. 
Next morning I went out to negotiate with the Ridgefield livery man i 
for a horse and buggy to Redding. 

"I began by asking how far it was to Redding. He was a David 1 
Harum sort of man and spoke with a drawl. 'Wal, mister, its eight : 
miles as the crow flies, but its twelve the way you've got to go, first tip 
nigh to Heaven an then descendin' into the pit.' 'But I've got jest 
the boss for ye,' he added, brightening ; 'he's a climber.' 

"'What'? said I. 

" 'A climber — built specially for climbin' hills — fore legs shorter than 
hind ones — kinder fore-shortened as these painter fellers say. You see, 
he was foaled and raised on a hill-side and grew that way.' 

" 'But don't it interfere with his gait on level ground' ? 

" 'Mister,' said he, 'ther ain't any level ground in these parts.' 

"It was pretty hilly. You know all about it so I won't enlarge. Down 
into one deep valley, up the opposing wall ; down into another still deep- 
er and into a wild, remote, savage glen, with only room for road and 
river between huge frowning cliffs. 

"My wife began to get frightened and wanted to know where I was 
taking her ; but we soon came out into meadows, then around by a grave- 
yard, and began climbing the last hill into Redding Center. Here I be- 
gan to recognize landmarks. 'Glory,' said I, 'there's the same old church 
where the whole school used to go and sit in the gallery, with Mr. Shaw 
at the head of the class to preserve order.' After sitting and looking at 
it a while, we set out for Redding Ridge by the same old road I had 
traveled a thousand times going to and from church, but when we came 
up on Redding Ridge everything seemed changed. The old Sanford 
house and store on the corner was gone, new villas and cottages had 
risen as by magic. But the old Episcopal Church still stood, 'Thank 
the Lord,' said I, 'there's something left.' The Heron place was gone, 
but the Sanford house was there, only the old school house with dormi- 
tory above where the boys slept, and where we got a good trouncing one 
summer night from Mr. Sanford as we stole in. one by one, after raiding 
a green corn patch, had been torn down. 

"We pulled up at Mr. Shaw's and the old man came out. 

" 'Well,' said I, 'It's the same old boy and the same old teacher.' 

"He looked at me a while. 'Biess my soul,' said he at last, 'Why, 
it's B .' 



HISTORY OF REDDING. I9I 

"It had been thirty-five years since I had seen him, and I was gray- 
haired. Would you have thought he would have known me? 

"Going up to see Cammeyer? Just ask him if he remembers how he 
licked me out under the horse sheds one night after singing school" ? 

A big, genial man sat in a small office in the rear of his immense store 
on Broadway and received his interviewer with favor on his mentioning 
the Sanford school. 

"I_ was a pretty bad boy, I guess," he remarked, "and was always 
getting into trouble of various sorts. The one I remember best occurred 
at church on a hot July day. The boys always sat in the gallery with 
Mr. Shaw at the head next the gallery stairs to keep them in proper 
frame of mind; but that day Jove nodded and another boy and I stole 
out and turned loose all the worshippers' horses that were hitched along 
the fence opposite the green, then crept back without being missed. 

"When church was out and the people went to get their horses, they 
were missing, and there was great mystification. We were found out 
though, — some of the neighbors saw us, — and got a good licking, as we 
deserved. 

"I remember still more vividly going home one winter for the Christ- 
mas holidays. It was the Saturday before Christmas, and bitterly cold. 
The only way was by stage to Norwalk and then by boat to New York. 
A real old-fashioned blizzard was raging, but I was going home for 
Christmas and nothing could have stopped me. Good Mrs. Shaw bun- 
dled me up and gave me a hot brick for my feet. The driver was a great 
Methodist and sang hymns all the way. Every little while he would look 
back to see if I was alive, and I guess I would have frozen if I had not 
been going home." 

A copy of the school magazine to which Dr. Briggs refers, is in pos- 
session of Samuel Shaw, Esq., of Bridgeport, and is interesting for its 
historical essays and grave metaphysical disquisitions, showing the reach- 
ing out for excellence of budding genius. 

A copy of the school catalogue for 1859-60 is owned by Prof. Sanford 
and is before us as we write. The pupils that year numbered thirty-six. 
The instructors were: Daniel Sanford, A. M., Principal and teacher of 
Mathematics ; Edward Shaw, A. M., teacher of Ancient Languages and 
Literature ; Mrs. Helen E. Sanford, teacher of Instrumental Music. The 
course of study embraced Orthography, Reading, English Grammar, 
Rhetoric, Composition, Declamation, Geography, Penmanship, Astron- 
omy, History, Bookkeeping, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonome- 
try, Surveying, Navigation, Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, the Na- 
tural Sciences, Latin and Greek Language, French Language. Drawing, 
Vocal and Instrumental Music. 



192 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

"It is our great aim/' says the catalogue, "to be thorough, and the 
prevalent method of cramming too many studies at once is repudiated. 
We aim likewise to inculcate moral and religious principles, and besides 
developing the mind of the boy, endeavor to give it the impress of high 
and manly character. While we claim no originality in our method of 
government, we have been eminently successful in placing the restraint 
of kindness and good will upon those committed to our charge, and have 
striven to supply the kindly and sacred influences of home." 

The expenses per term of five months, including board, tuition and 
incidentals, were ninety dollars, with five dollars additional for French, 
Latin, and Greek, and twenty for the use of the piano. 

There is a page of "Rules," which are interesting as showing the 
school discipline of that day : 

"ist. Every member of the school is required to attend morning and 
evening prayers. 

"2d. All loud and unnecessary noise in and around the building is 
at all times forbidden. 

"3d. No boy will be permitted to leave the bounds without permission 
from the principal, or go a swimming or skating unaccompanied by a 
teacher. 

"4th. The students are strictly forbidden to trespass on the grounds 
of those residing in the vicinity, nor will they be permitted to meddle with 
the fruit or injure the property in any way. 

"5th. Profane and indecent language is strictly forbidden. 

"6th. No fire-arms or deadly weapons of any kind will be allowed on 
the premises. 

"7th. No boy will be permitted to leave school without a line from 
his parents or guardian. 

"8th. The kitchen must not be entered by the scholars, except for 
necessary business. 

"9th. Students will be held responsible for all injury done to the 
property of the principal, or of each other. 

"loth. All lights in the rooms of the boys must be extinguished be- 
fore 10 o'clock; and no loud noise or disorder of any kind will be allow- 
ed in the sleeping rooms. 

"nth. Every member of the school will be required to attend divine 
service upon the Sabbath." 

It is a matter for congratulation that this famous old school has been 
revived, and by one so capable as the son of the original founder. Prof. 
Daniel Sanford is an M. A. of Yale, and well known as one of the lead- 
ing educators of the day. For seven years he was head master of the 
High School at Stamford, Conn., and for fourteen years of the High 
School of Brookline, Mass., the latter becoming, under him, one of the 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



193 



model high schools of the country. He will, no doubt, add to the 
efficiency and reputation of the school founded by his father. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Parish Register of the Congregational Church, Redding/ 



I 

3 
5 
7 
9 
II 

13 
15 

17 
18 

19 
20 
21 
22 

24 

25 
26 



From Greenfield. 



Original Members. 

Mr. John Read and Sarah his wife, from Ridgefield. 

Mrs. Ellen Williams (Thomas). 

George Hull and wife. 

Daniel Lyon and wife. 

Stephen Burr and Elizabeth his wife. 

Theophilus Hull and wife. 

Peter Burr and Abagail his wife. | 

Daniel Bradley and wife. j 

Ebenezer Hull and wife. J 

Esther Hambleton (Benjamin). Danbury. 

John Griffin, 

Isaac Hull. 

Nathaniel Sanford. Newtown. 

Thomas Fairchild. Trumbull. 

Benjamin Lyon and wife (Esther?). Wilton. 

Lemuel Sanford. 

Mary Lyon (Richard). Fairfield. 



Green's Farms. 



II. 

Marriages by the Rev. Nathaniel Hunn. 
(/ Tvas married to Mrs. Ruth Read, Sept. 14, 1737.) 

Bate. Man's Name. Woman's Name. 

Nov. 12, 1734. Georg3 Corns. Anna Hall. 

Apr. 10. 1735. John Mallery. Elizabeth Adams. 

Dec. 4, " James Bradley. Abigail Sanford. 

May 7, 1736. Peter Burr. Rebecca Ward. 

Aug. 25, " Samuel Smith. Lydia Hull. 



♦Copied by C. B. T. Verified by L. S. 



194 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



2—28, 


1737- 


Peter Mallery. 


Joanna Hall. 


12 — 22, 


" 


Daniel Burr. 


Abigail Sherwood. 


7— 2, 


1740. 


Edward Slierman. 


Rebecca Lee. 


5— 9. 


<> 


Abraham Adams. 


Elizabeth Williams. 


Oct. 


(( 


Benjamin Turney. 


Eunice Lyon. 


11—30, 


1743- 


Thomas Rowland. 


Timzeen ( ?) Jaoock. M. 


12 — 28, 


i< 


Matthew Rowler( Fowler?) Sarah Gray. | 


2- 6, 


1744- 


Ebenezer Mallery. 


Hannah Keyes (?). 


7— 19» 


« 


Daniel Meeker, 


Sarah Johnson. 


10—29, 


<< 


Lemuel Wood. 


Grissel Mallery. 


10—31, 


(< 


David Meeker. 


Hannah Hill. 


8—20, 


1745- 


Benjamin Meeker. 


Katherine Burr. 


9— 4, 


<< 


John Heppin ( ?). 


Mary Read. 


12—24, 


(< 


Hezekiah Rowland. 


Tamar Treadwell. 


6—29, 


1746. 


William Truesdale. 


Deliverance Jayoock. -"'^ 


9—19. 


(< 


Robert Meeker. 


Rebecca Morehouse. 


10—27, 


<< 


Seth Wheeler. 


Ruth Knap. 


12—18, 


(( 


John Read, Jr. 


Tabitha Haw'ley. 


3— 5» 


1747. 


Nehemiah Sanford. 


Elizabeth Morehouse. 


3— 5. 


(( 


Samuel Wood. 


Mary Mallery. 


9-i7> 


<< 


Samuel Coley. 


Mary Gray. 


10— 8, 


<( 


Nehemiah Smith, 


Rebecca Meeker. 


10—17, 


<( 


Jonas Piatt. 


Elizabeth Sanford. 


10— 9, 


(( 


Gurdon Mardiant. 


Eleanor Chauncey. 


II— I, 


1748. 


Daniel Hull. 


Mary Betts. 


II— 15, 


(< 


Gershom Coley. 


Abigail Hull. 


11—30, 


<.' 


Daniel Mallery. 


Sarah Lee. 


I— 18, 


1749. 


Gershom Morehouse. 


Anne Sanford. 


^7. 


<f 


William Burret. 


Elizabeth Burr. 



By Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett. 
{[was married to Eunice Russell, June ij, 17JJ.) 



12— II, 1753. 

3— 5. 1754- 
4-16, " 
5-28, " 

5— 29» " 
2—20, 1755. 
6-29, " 
lo- 2, " 
11—22, 1755. 



William Read. 
Benjamin Hambleton. 
Daniel Coley. 
Nathaniel Hull. 
Isaac Meeker, 
Thomas Gold. 
Daniel Dean. 
Daniel Jackson. 
John Burr, Jr. 



Sarah Hawley. 
Hannah Bulkley. 
Sarah Sanford. 
Abigail Piatt. 
Eunice Coley. 
Anne Smith. 
Mary Lee. 
Abigail Sanford. 
Sarah Griffin. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



195 



I— 7. 1756. 

9—19. " 



5—25, I757. 



12 — 16, 

I— 5. 
4—18 

5—21, 

9- 3. 

II— 5- 

12—13, 

I— II, 

1—25, 
2— II, 

2—25, 
4—25, 
8-7, 
8—15, 
10 — II, 

3— 27> 
7— 7, 
10 — 29, 
Apr. 12, 

May 19, 
May 21, 

Aug. 21, 

Dec. 2, 

2Z> 



1758- 



1759- 



1760. 
ij6i. 



1762. 



1763. 



Samuel Cable. 
David Lyon. 
Paul Bartram. 
Ebenezer Hull. 
Jdhn Bartram. 
Joseph Dikeman. 
Ebenezer Burritt. 
William Monroe. 
John Morgan. 
Daniel Sanford. 
Benjamin Davis. 
Stephen Gray. 
Michael Benedict. 
Hezekiah Booth. 
Hezekiah Smith. 
Theophilus Hull. 
Samuel Clugston. 
Elias Bates. 
Seth Sanford. 
John Gray. 
Jonathan CouCh. 
Alexander Bryant. 
James Gray, Jr. 
John Clugston. 
Joseph Stilson. 
Dea. Stephen Burr. 
Reuben Squire. 
Joseph Lyon. 
Isaac Rumsey. 
Stephen Crofoot. 
Ric'hard Nichols. 
John Griffin. 
Anthony Angevine. 
Timothy Sanford. 
David Bartram. 
Asahel Patdhen. 
Joseph Sanford, Jr. 
David Jackson. 
. Joseph Rumsey. 
John Hawley. 
John Hull. 
George Gage. 



Mary Piatt. 
Hannah Sanford. 
Mary Hawley. 
Ruth Betts. 
Charity Buckley. 
Eunice Darling. 
Elizabeth Piatt. 
Eunice Dean. 
Joanna Banks. 
Esther Hull. 
Eunice Nash. - 
Sarah Ferry. 
Pette Dike^.an. 
Abigail Betts. 
Lydia Lee. 
Martha Betts. 
Deborah Mallery. 
TaJbitha Read. 
Rebecca Burr. 
Ruhannaih Barlow. 
Eunice Griffin. 
Elizabeth Burr. 
Asena Taylor. 
Eunice Mallery. 
Rebecca Wildman. 
Abigail Hall. 
Elizabeth Bryant. 
Lois Sanford. 
Abigail St. John, 
/xdria Couch. 
Abigail Gold. 
Katherine Johnson. 
Esther Burr. 
Mary Sanford. 
Phebe Morehouse. 
Hannah Osborn. 
Hepsibah Griffith. 
Anna Sanford. 
— Sarah Morehouse. 
Abigail Sanford. 
Molle Andrews. 
Sarah Adams. « — 



196 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Nov. 13, 1763. 

16, " 

23, " 

Dec. 3, " 

Dec. 21, " 

Feb. 9, 1764. 

June II, " 

Aug. 16, " 

Sept. 24, " 

Oct. 25. " 

Nov. 20, " 

Jan. 15, 1765. 

<( a 

July II, " 

Oct. 2, " 

Feb. 19, 1766. 

June 3, " 

i( <( 

June 26, " 

Sept. 18, " 

Nov. 7, " 

Nov. 20, " 

Jan. 8, 1767. 

Feb. 5, " 

Feb. 17, " 

Mch. 12, " 

31, " 

Apr. 2, " 

22, '' 

23, " 
June 24, " 

July 23, " 

« it 

Nov. 5, " 

Nov. 10, " 

19, " 

29, " 

Dec. 6, " 

Mch. 25, 1768. 

27, " 



Noah Hull. 
John Byington. 
Elnathan Lyon. 
Elijah Burchard. 
Samuel Olmstead. 
James Grey, Jr. 
Jesse Banks. 
John June. 
Hezekiah Batterson. 
Ephraim De Forest. 
John Clugston. 
Zac'hariah Summers. 
Samuel Rowley. 
Eleazer Olmsitead. 
Hezekia'h Whitlock. 
Isaac Piatt. 
James Russica. 
William Hambleton. 
Calvin Wheeler. 
Thomas Rockwell. 
Ephraim Jackson, Jr. 
Joseph Griffin. 
David Tierney. 
Seth Banks. 
Ezekiel Fairchild. 
Nehemiah Hull. 
Hubbell Bennett. 
Joseph Meeker. 
Jacob Lyon. 
Elijah Burr. 
Elnathan Sturges. 
Ezekiel Sanford. 
James Prindle. 
Samuel Sanford, Jr. 
Burgess Hall. 
Abijah Fairchild. 
Nathaniel Northrop. 
Stephen Sanford. 
Joseph Banks. 
Levi Seeley, 
Stephen Meeker. 
Lt. Peter Fairchild. 



Sarah Banks. 

Sarah Gray. 

Jane Knap. 

Ruth Morehouse. 

Sarah Bartram. 

Mabel Phinney. 

Mabel Wli^^leij.^ ^ j^v>^-^ 

Sarab Jeaiiks (JeiJalas,?). 

Mary Sherwood. 

Sarah Betts. 

Charity Jennings. 

Martha Burr. 

Sarah Corns. 

Grace Pickett. 

Anne Piatt. 

Mary Pickett. 

Sarah Rumsey. 

Martha Prince. 

Mary Thorp. 

Tabitha Sanford. 

Martha Hull. 

Esther Hall. 

Sarah Gold. 

Sarah Piatt. 

Eunice Andrews. 

Griswold Perry. 

Rebecca Pickett. 

Mary Darling. 

Hannah Wheeler. 

Rhoda Sanford. 

Ruth Hawley. 

Sarah Sturges. 

Rhoda Mallery. 

Sara'h Olmstead. 

Whitehead. 

Huldah Burr. 
Esther Gold. 
Abigail Ward. 
Anne Morehouse. 
Anna Meeker. 
Anne Lee. 
Mary Lock wood. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



197 



Aug. 


22, 


1768. 


Jdhn Parker. 


Sarah Sherwood. 


Sept. 


20, 


(< 


Hezekiah Bulkley. 


Sarah Rumsey. 


Nov. 


8, 


ii 


Abel Morehouse. 


Betty Squire. 




9. 


(t 


Solomon Northrop. 


Sarah Knapp. 




29, 


(( 


John Darling Guyer. 


Rebecca Hill. 


Mch. 


4. 


1769, 


William Sloan. 


Mary Read. 


Apr. 


7, 


<>' 


Andrew Knapp. 


Rebecca Monroe. 


June 


20, 


" 


Ephraim Robbins. 


Sarah Couch. 


July 


2^, 


1769. 


Henry Hopkins, 


Hannah Burr. 


Aug. 


17, 


** 


Nathan Jackson. 


Elizabeth Osbom. 




23. 


<< 


Silas Lee. 


Witelee Meeker. 


Sept. 


26, 


(< 


Nehemiah Seeley. 


Sarah Dibble. 


Oct. 


10, 


<i 


Daniel Bartrattn. 


Ann Merchant. 


Oct. 


28, 


(< 


Samuel White. 


Huldah Sanford. 


Jan. 


22, 


1770. 


James Morgan. 




^^suorii. 




23, 


<< 


Nathaniel Turrell. 


Abagail Rumsey. 


Mch. 


27.. 


<( 


Seth Meeker. 


Ellen Bixby. 


Nov. 


I, 


<< 


Joseph Lyon. 


Sarah Bulkley. 




15, 


<( 


Nathan Coley. 


Mabel Bixby. 


< 


( 


<( 


Ephraim Sanford. 


Tabitha Morehouj 


Dec. 


20, 


<< 


Ezekiel Hawley. 


Huldah Lyon. 




25. 


<< 


Daniel Fairchild. 


Sarah Lane. 


Mch. 


6, 


1771. 


Seth Price. 


Mary Gold. 


May 


23» 


<< 


Justus Bates. 


Hannah Coley. 


Nov. 

< 


12, 


« 


Ebenezer Coley. 
Wood. 


Rachel Sturges. 
Hill. 


Dec. 


8, 


1772. 


Jonathan Bradley. 


Grace Jackson. 




27> 


<< 


Aaron Barlow 


Rebecca Sanford. 


Jan. 


24, 


1773- 


Lazarus Wheeler. 


Hannah Gorham. 


Feb. 


22, 


<< 


William Bradley. 


Mary Westcot?t. 


Apr. 


27. 


<( 


EHjah Burr. 


Eunice Hawley. 




28, 


(>' 


Elnathan Sturgis. 


Martha Jackson. 


May 


19. 


(>' 


Chauncey Merchant. 


Hannah Hambletc 


Oct. 


17. 


<i 


Samuel Piatt. 


Abigail Hall. 


Nov. 


10, 


(( 


Henry Whinkler. 


Ruth Coley. 


Nov. 


21, 


(.' 


Ezekiel Sanford. 


Abigail Starr. 


Dec. 


7, 


(.' 


Daniel Read. 


Anne Hill. 


Dec. 


27, 


(( 


Stephen Andrus. 


Lois Osborn. 


Jan. 


II, 


1774- 


Joseph -Tuesdale. 


Comfort Burr.-' — ' 




23, 


(( 


David Jackson. 


Esther Ward. 




27, 


4i 


John Fairchild. 


Sarah Hull. 


Feb. 


9- 


ti 


Levi Dikeman. 


Rebecca Lines. 



198 






HISTORY OF REDDING. 


Mch. 


I, 


1774- 


Philip Burritt. 


Rachel Read. 




20, 


" 


John Pickett. 


Mary Bates. 


Aug. 


18, 


<< 


Augustus Sanford. 


Abigail Sturges. 




22, 


" 


Jonathan Person. 


Elizabeth Thomas 




28, 


<< 


Isaac Hambleton. 


Eunice Piatt. 


Sept. 


18, 


" 


Abijah Fairchild. 


Riebe Smith. 


Jan. 


26, 


1775- 


Robert Stone. 


Anna Darrow. 


Mch. 


14, 


n 


Seth Meeker. 


Millicent Davis. 




28, 


a 


Daniel Seeley. 


Lydia Comstock. 


May 


14, 


it 


Hezekiah Read. 


Anne Gorham. 




22.. 


ii 


Eli Nichols. 


Hannah Hull. 


June 


^7, 


a 


Enoch Betts. 


Mary Coley. 


July 


12, 


It 


Thaddeus Benedict. 


Deborah Read. 


Sept. 


12, 


1776. 


Isaac Gregory. 


Sarah St. John. 


Ocft. 


9' 


tt 


William Dunning. 


Sarah Osborn. 


Mch. 


3, 


1777. 


Daniel Copley. 


Theoda Couch. 


Sept. 


24, 


■ ( 


Jonathan Couch. 


Mabel Meeker. 


Oct. 


16, 


(( 


Samuel Mallery. 


Hannah Nichols. 


Nov. 


3» 


tt 


Sam'l Ramong (Ramond?) Philema Banks. 




6, 


tt 


Benjamin Darling. 


Mary Chapman. 




12, 


tt 


Jeremiah Batterson. 


Bette Clugston. 


Dec. 


18, 


tt 


Abel Gold. 


Elizabeth Gold. 




25» 


tt 


Jesse Benedict. 


Molle Ward. 


Jan. 


7, 


1778. 


Daniel C. Bartlett. 


Esther Read. 




28, 


tt 


Daniel Osborn. 


Jane Morehouse. 


Feb. 


12, 


tt 


Jabez Burr. 


Mary Bartram. 


Mdh. 


5. 
<< 


tt 
ti 


Francis Andrews. 
Bille Morehouse. 


Sabra Parsons. 
Ruth Guyer. 




26, 


tt 


Thomas Rescue ( ?) . 


Phebe Pickett. 


Apr. 


9, 


tt 


Samuel Gold. 


Sarah Piatt. 




22, 


tt 


Enos Lee. 


Ruth Bates. 


May 


29, 


t( 


Austin Baxter. 


Martha Darling. 


F€b. 


7. 


1779- 


James Gibbons (soldier). 


Ann Sullivan. 


Mch. 


18, 


tt 


John Lines.* 


Mary Hendrick. 




30, 


It 


Daniel Evarts.* 


Mary Rowland. 


Apr. 


15, 


ti 


Isaac Olm stead.* 


Mary Persons. 




28, 


II 


Jesse Belknap.* 


Eunice Hall. 


May 


4, 


II 


William Little (steward to 
Gen. Parsons). 


Phebe Marchant. 


May 


23> 


tt 


Giles Gilbert.* 


Deborah Hall. 


Sept 


30, 


n 


Joseph Jackson, Jr. 


Mary Edmond. 


Oct. 


3. 


II 


Russell Chapel.* 


Sarah O&borne. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



199 



Mch. 9. 1780. 


William Darrow.* 


Ruth Bartram. 


Mch. 20, " 


John Dikeman. 


Sara'h Meeker. 




Record of Baptisms. 


Date. 


Child's Name. 


Parent's Name. 


Mch. 25, 1733. 


Abel. 


Nathaniel Sanford. 


It (1 


Abigail. 


Ebenezer Perry. 


Apr. 9, " 


Esther. 


Daniel Bradley. 


May 28, " 


Bethel 


Benjamin Lyon. 


(< << 


Esther. 


Benjamin Hambleton. 


July 8, " 


Elizabeth, 


Joshua Hall. 


29, " 


Seth. 


George Hull. 


<( (< 


Samuel. 


Samuel Chatfield. 


<( << 


Rachel. 


Ephraim Sanford. 


(( << 


Robbin. 


Servant of John Hull. 


Feb. 10, 1734. 


Timothy. 


Joseph Sanford. 


Mch. 31, " 


Abigail. 


John Hull. 


Apr. 7, " 


Jemima. 


Baterson. 


22, " 


Daniel. 


Samuel Sanford. 


Nov. 10, " 


Timothy. 


Daniel Lyon. 


24. " 


Millison. ' '. 


Joshua Hall. 


29, " 


Esther. 


Peter Burr. 


<( << 


Sarah. 


Lemuel Sanford. 


Dec. 15, " 


Stephen. 


Daniel Bradley. 


Mch. 2, 1735. 


Hezekiah. 


John Read. 


30, " 


Martha. 


Deacon Stephen Burr. 


May 4, " 


Isaac. 


Joseph Meeker. 


U (< 


Seth. 


Benjamin Hambleton. 


Apr. 27, " 


York. " 


Servant to Joseph Sanford. 


May 18, " 


Abigail. 


Ephraim Sanford. 


May 25, " 


Rebecca. 


George Hull. 


It n 


Anna Aldridge. 


George and Anna Coins. 


Aug. 23, " 


Seth. 


Samuel Sanford. 


31, " 


Daniel. 


Samuel Chatfield. 


Nov. 23, " 


Jane. 


Zachariah Squire. 


Jan. II, 1734. 


Jdhn. i 


' John Mallery. 


25, " 


Eunice. 


Joseph Darling. 


It It 


Andrew. 


Servant Samuel Sanford. 


It ti 


- Caesar. 


Servant Ephraim Sanford. 


Feb. 21, 1736. 


Sarah. 


Peter Burr. 


* Soldiers in 


Putnam's army, encamped in 


Redding this winter. There is no 


further record of marriages until 1809. 





200 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Apr. 4, 


1736 


Parrow. 


i8, 


« 


Abigail. 


May 9, 


.'( 


Sarah. 


Jun 13, 


<( 


Mabel. 


20, 


(( 


Sarah. 


26, 


<( 


Joseph. 


« 


« 


Thomas. 


(( 


M 


Andrew. 


« 


(« 


Kate. 


(( 


<( 


Phillip. 


July 25, 


(( 


Esther. 


Aug. 22, 


it 


John. 


Nov. I, 


a 


Anna. 


Jan. 2, I 


717' 


Ezra. 


(( 


(( 


Deborah. 


Feb. 20, 


<< 


Mary. 


Mch. 13, 


<< 


Hannah. 


Apr. 17, 


<( 


Samuel. 


May 12, 


<( 


Ruth. 


Aug. 14, 


<< 


Ezekiel. 


Sept. 4, 


<( 


Nanny. 


Feb. 5, 


1738. 


Rebecca. 


Mch. 19, 


<( 


Mary. 


Apr. 15, 


<( 


John. 


(( 


(( 


Benjamin. 


(( 


(( 


Joanna and Mary 


23. 


(( 


Amelia. 


June 4, 


<< 


Lydia. 


July 23, 


« 


Zalmon. 


<( 


« 


Nathan. 


<( 


It 


Sara'h. 


Aug. 5, 


(( 


Samuel. 


(( 


a 


Genne. 


20, 


(( 


Nathan. 


Oct. 15, 


<< 


Eunice. 


22, 


(( 


Timothy. 


<( 


(( 


Bille. 


« 


<( 


Eunice. 


Dec. 17, 


<( 


Elizabeth. 


31- 


(( 


Daniel. 


Jan. 13, 


1739- 


Rebecca. 


Mch. 4, 


<< 


Eunice. ' 



Servant Deacon Burr. 
Timothy Piatt. 
John Griffin. 
Joshua Hall. 
Jonathan Morelhouse. 
Joseph Sanford. 
Servant John Read. 



John Hull. 
Benjamin Lyon. 
Lemuel Sanford. 
Peter Burr. 
Benjamin Hambleton. 
Obadiah Piatt. 
Ephraim Sanford. 
Samuel Ohatfield. 
Nathaniel Sanford, 
James Bradley. 

Parrow. 

Peter Mallery. 
Samuel Sanford. 
James Morgan. 
Joseph Darling. 
Jonathan Moiehouse. 
Benjamin Hambleton. 
Lemuel Sanford. 
John Read. 
David Crofoot. 
John Darling. 
Benjamin Lyon. 

Parrow. 

Joseph Sanford. 
Daniel Dean. 
Thomas Fairdiild. 

John Griffin. 
John Mallery. 
Jonathan Meeker. 
Peter Mallery. 
James Bradley. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



201 



Mch. 4. 1739- 

25. " 

Apr. 24, " 

May 6, " 

12, " 

15. " 

20, " 

June 3, 

July 15. " 
29. " 

Aug. 5. " 

Nov. II, " 

18, " 

Dec. 2, " 

16, " 

[Feb. 24, 1740. 
Mch. 9, " 
Apr. 13, " 
20, " 

27. " 

July 6, '' 

Aug. 17, " 

Sept. 14, " 

Oct. 9, " 

Jan. II, 1741. 

10, " 

Feb. 20, " 

Apr. 12, " 



May 10, " 

24. " 

31. " 

Aug. I, "^^ 
Sept. 20, 

Nov. 22, " 

Jan. 31, 1742. 



Fe<b. 7, 



Abbe. 

Ebenezei\ 

John. 

Sara'h. 

Seth. 

Elizabeth. 

Martha. 

Hannah. 

Hannah. 

Daniel. 

Solomon. 

Rebecca. 

Elizabeth. 

Damans. 

David. 

Saraih. 

Mary. 

Phebe. 

Obadiah. 

Cato. 

Lemuel. 

John. 

Anne. 

David. 

Jemima. 

Solomon. 

Martha. 

Abijah. 

James. 

John Lee. 

Hezekiah. 

Sarah. 

John. 

James. 

Jonathan. 

Abigail. 

Oliver. 

Titus. 

Noah. 

Calvin. 

Anne. 

Mary. 



James Morgan. 
John Whitlock. 
Ephraim Sanford. 
Ebenezer Ferry. 
Samuel Smith. 
Obadiah Piatt. 
Samuel Chatfield. 
Jonathan Morehouse. 
Joseph Lee. 
Ebenezer Couch. 
Gershom Burril. 
Dea. Stephen Burr. 
George and Anna Corns. 
Andrew and Kate (slaves) 
Samuel Sanford. 
Adam Clark. 
William Burritt. 

Benjamin Lyon. 
Nathaniel Gray. 

My Negro Servant. 

Lemuel Sanford. 

George Wildman. 

Samuel Smith. 

Jacob Oysterbanks. 

William Jacock. 

Nathaniel Booth. 

Joseph Darling. 

William Burritt. 

James Sanford. 

Edmund Sherman. 

John Whitlock. 

Thomas Fairchild. 

Ebenezer Ferry. 

James Bradley. 

Daniel Lyon. 

Adam Clark. 

Ephraim Sanford. 

Andrew (Slave). 

Gers'hom Burril. 

Ephraim Wheeler. 

James Morgan. 

Joseph Hawley. 



202 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Mch. 


II, 


1742. 


Eli jail. 


July 


4. 


(( 


Ezekiel. 




i8, 


<< 


Sabrena. 


Sept. 


19. 


(( 


Adra. 




26, 


It 


Vincent. 


Oct. 


24, 


II 


Abigail. 


II 




n 


R'hoda. 


Nov. 


7. 


>( 


Nathan. 


Dec. 


19. 


(< 


Benjamin. 


Jan. 


i3> 


1743- 


Abigail. 


Apr. 




" 


Nehemiah. 


May 


8, 


<i 


Mary. 


< 


15. 


II 


Elijah. 
James. 


June 


5. 


" 


Mary. 




12, 


II 


Ebenezer. 


July 


17, 


II 


Stephen. 


Aug. 


21, 


II 


Nathan. 


Sept. 


19. 


II 


Lois. 


Oct. 


10, 


II 


Hannah. 




17, 


a 


Nathaniel. 


( 




II 


Joseph. 


Jan. 


8, 


1744- 


Daniel. 




29> 


II 


James. 


Feb. 


12, 


<( 


Esther. 


' 




<( 


Mabel. 




19. 


i< 


Sibyl. 


May 


27. 


" 


Abijah. 


< 


( 


II 


Esther. 


< 


1 


II 


Phebe. 


June 


3, 


II 


Mary. 


July 


I, 


II 


Hannah. 




8. 


II 


Mary. 


Aug. 

< 


5. 


It 
11 


Samuel. 
David. 




12, 


II 


Stephen. 


Sept. 


23, 


II 


Hannah. 


Oct. 


7, 


II 


Anna. 




14, 


(( 


Ruth. 


Nov. 


5. 


II 


Levi. 


Mch. 


10, 


1745- 


Abner. 


May 


5. 


<< 


Samuel. 



Jonathan Morehouse. 
Lemuel Sanford. [Burr 
Maid servant to Deacon 
Ebenezer Couch. 
Edmund Sherman. 
David Gold. 
William Burrett. 
Thomas Fairchild. 
Solomon Burton. 
Samuel Sanford. 
Ebenezer Hull. 
Joseph Lee, Jr. 
Jabez Burr. 
Daniel Gray. 
Samuel Coley. 
Ebenezer Ferry. 
Joseph Sanford. 
James Bradley. 
Epbraim Sanford. 
Jdhn Wbitlock. 
Gershom Burril. 
Joseph Darling. 
William Lee. 
Adam Clark. 
Stephen Burr. 
Ephraim Wheeler. 
William Burrit. 
Thomas Fairchild. 
Nathaniel Sanford. 
Jonathan Morehouse. 
Frederick Dikeman, 
John Grey. 
Samuel Smith. 
Joseph Hawley. 
David Lord. 
Daniel Gold. 

John . 

Lemuel Sanford. 
Solomon Burton. 
Edmund Sherman, 
Nehemiah Booth. 
Samuel Sanford. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



203 



July 


7. 


1745- 


Abigail. 


James Bradley. 


J J 


21, 


<< 


Isaac. 


Gershom Burril. 


Sept. 




" 


Abijah. 


William Lee. 


Oct. 


23. 


<< 


Mary. 

(Six 


Thomas Fairchild. 
dates torn out.) 


Nov. 


5.- 


1746. 


Ruth. 


Joseph Hawley. 




23, 


>< 


Jonathan, 


John Griffin. 




27, 


<< 


Anne. 


Frederick Dikeman. 


Dec. 


7, 


" 


Ezekiel. 


Abraham Fairchild. 


Apr. 


5. 


1747- 


Daniel. 


Andrew and Kate. 




10, 


•( 


Huldah. 


Jabez Burr. 


May 


10, 


a 


Sara'h. 


Samuel Sanford. 


< 




<( 


Stephen. 


Stephen Gray. 




3I' 


<< 


Rhoda. 


Thomas Fairchild. 


June 


7, 


<< 


Witeley. 


Benjamin Meeker. 




14, 


<< 


Ruth. 


Jonathan Mordhouse 




22, 


<< 


Ger shorn. 


William Truesdale.^ 


July 


26, 


" 


Justus. 


Elias Bates. 


Aug. 


2. 


<< 


Elijah. 
Elnafhan. 


Ebenezer Couch. 
Daniel Meeker. 


Oct. 


8, 


(< 


Daniel. 


Joseph Rumsey. 


Jan. 


31. 


1748. 


Esther. 


Hezekiah Rowland. 


Mch. 


20, 


<< 


John. 


John Couch. 




27. 


<( 


Elias. 


Elias Bixby. 


< 


< 


<i 


Esther. 


Daniel Gold. 


May 


I, 


<< 


Huldah. 


Ephraim Sanford. 


t 


15. 


« 


Abigail. 
Ruth. 


William Lee. 
Samuel Coley. 


Aug. 


28, 


'< 


Isaac. 


David Bartram. 


it 


<( 


Gershom. 


Nehemiah Sanford. 


Jan. 


22, 


1749. 


Isaac Taylor. (Adult.) 




29. 


(( 


Jared. 


Daniel Meeker. 


Feb. 


5, 


(( 


Daniel. 


Abraham Fairchild. 


( 


( 


<< 


Antie. 


Gurdon Marchant. 


Mch 


5. 


'< 


Elizabeth. 


David Lord. 


Feb. 


26, 


<< 


Rhoda. 


Lemuel Sanford. 


Apr. 


9. 


" 


Peter. 


Andrew (slave). 




16, 


fi 


Esther. 


Samuel Sanford. 


May 


7. 


« 


Mary. 


Joseph Darling. 



204 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



By Rev. Mr. Judson, of Newtown. 



Oct. 


2S, 


1750. 


Eunice. 


Josepih Hawley. 






« 


Enoch. 


Matthew Scribner. 






« 


David. 


John Truesdale. ^' 






« 


Elisha. 


William Raymond. 






(( 


Daniel. 


Daniel Mallery. 


Jan. 


25» 


1751- 


Rebecca, 


Daniel Meeker. 






<< 


Sarah. 


Gurdon Marchant. * 






(( 


Mary. 


David Bradley. 


Feb. 


i9» 


>( 


Sarah. 


Adam Clark. 






K 


Martha. 


Daniel Hull. 






« 


Abigail. 


John Rumsey. 






M 


Damaris. 


Andrew and Kate. 


Mtfh. 


25. 


<< 


Isaac. 


Abraham Fairchild. 


Oct. 


20, 


(( 


Hanna'h. 


Daniel Gold. 






n 


William. 


William Truesdale. 






tt 


Hanford. 


Nehemiah Smith. 


Feb. 


2, 


^7S2' 


J6hn. 


John Read, Jr. 






« 


Jdhn. 


Jonas Piatt. 






(( 


Sarah. 


Elias Bates. 


Jan. 


21, 


1753- 


Stephen. 


Jdhn Couch. 






it 


Mary. 


James Green. 


Feb. 


25, 


it 


Hezekiah. 


John Read. 






(( 


Rachel. 


Samuel Sanford. 






« 


Ephraim. 


Joseph Rumsey. 






(( 


Chauncey. 


Gurdon Marchant. 






<( 


Rachel. 


Jdhn Rumsey. 






« 


Simon. 


Andrew and Kate. 


Mch. 


28, 


« 


Lois. 


Daniel Meeker. 


Apr. 


5. 


(( 


Sarali. 


William Truesdale.' 


May 


13, 


« 


William. 


William Lee. 



By Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett. 



May 27, 




Mary. 


June 3, 




Hezekiah. 


24, 




Stephen. 


July 8, 




David. 


15. 




Augustus. 


<( 




Joseph. 


« 




Josiah. 



Daniel and Grace Gold. 
Daniel and Mary Hull. 
John and Rachel Truesdal 
Abra'ham and Rachel Fairchild. 
Ephraim and Elizabetlh Sanford. 
John and Hannah Gray. 
Jacob and Kate Lovett. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



205 



Aug. 26, 


1753- 


Abel Eldridge. 


<( 


it 


Joseph. 


11 


it 


Ezra. 


Feb. 10, 


1754- 


Simon. 


<< 


« 


Lena. 


it 


<( 


Jacob. 


K 


<( 


Sarah. 


Feb. 14, 


« 


Sarah. 


Mch. 3, 


(( 


Eunice. 


10, 


« 


Millison. 


Apr. 28, 


" 


Ezra. 


29, 


(( 


Hanford. 


June 9, 


(< 


Russell. 


Aug. I,, 


(( 


Daniel. 


25, 


« 


Nathan. 


Sept. 22, 


<( 


Isaac. 


29, 


« 


Ruth. 


Oct. 27, 


« 


Stephen. 


Nov. 13, 


« 


Rachel. 


Jan. 2, 


1755- 


Eunice. 


19. 


(( 


Ezra. 


26, 


it 


Theode. 


Feb. 6, 


it 


Ned. 


23» 


if 


Seth. 


Mch. 23, 


it 


Seth. 


it 


K 


Ezskiel. 


Apr. 13, 


it 


Mary, 


20, 


it 


Adria. 


27, 


it 


Esther. 


June I, 


it 


Justin. 


<( 


it 


Mary. 


8, 


it 


Molle. 


July 12, 


it 


Samuel. 


it 


t( 


Justus. 


Aug. 13, 


it 


Esther and Eunice 


3i» 


ii 


Abigail 


<( 


U 


John. 


Oct. 19, 


it 


Ann. 


it 


it 


Abigail. 


Dec. I, 


tt 


Hannah. 


28, 


(t 


Esther. 


Feb. 22, 


1756. 


Sarah. 



(Adult.) 

Abel Eldridge. 

John and Esther Bates. 

Jonathan and Deboralh Dudley. 
tt tt 

James and Sarah Gray. 
Benjamin and Mary Dean. 
Timothy and Anne Hull. 
Gershom and Abigail Coley. 
John and Sarah Davis. 
Gershom and Anne Morehouse. 
Nehemia'h and Rebecca Smith. 
Nathanid and Eunice Bartlett. 
Jonas and Elizabeth Piatt. 
Daniel and Sarah Mallery. 
Benjamin and Hannah Hambleton. 
John and Sarah Read. 
Daniel and Sarah Coley. 
William and Sarah Read. 
John and Hannah Gray. 
Stephen and Rachel Mead. 
Ebenezer and Anna Couch, 
Servt. Samuel Smith. 
Seth and Hannah Hull. 
William and Sarali Lee. 
Jabez and Elizabeth Burr. 
John and Esther Bates. 
John and Sarah Coudi. 
Ephraim and Elizabeth Sanford. 
William and Deliverance Truesdale 
John and Esther Rumsey. 
Samuel Coley, Jr. 
Abraham and Rachel Fairchild. 
Daniel and Mary Hull. 
Benjamin and Katherine Meeker. 
John Read. 
Gurdon Merchant. *^ 
Nehemiah and Eliza'beth Sanford. 
Daniel and Marv Dean. 
Benjamin and Henmaih Hambleton. 
Benjamin and Mary Dean. 
John and Sarah Davis. 



2 o6 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Apr. 4, 1756. 

10, ''^ 

May 2, 

<< (< 

16, " 

23- " 

30, " 

July 18. " 

Aug. 8, 

22, " 

Jan. 2, 1757. 

16, " 

<( << 

23, " 
Mch. 27, " 

Apr. 24, " 

(< << 

May 29, " 

July 17, " 

Aug. 28, " 

Sept. 4, '' 

5, " 

<( (( 

Oct. 16, " 

« (I 

Nov. 13, " 

16, " 

Jan. 8, 1758. 

Mdh. 5, " 

Mch. 7, " 

8, " 

Mch. II, " 

26, " 

Apr. 16, " 

May 14, " 

May 21, " 

June 4, " 



Mary. 

Ezra. 

Deborah. 

Hezekiah. 

Hannaih. 

Samuel. 

Peter. 

Eunice. 

Bille. 

Nathan. 

Ephraim. 

Saralh. 

Joel. 

Daniel Collins. 

Stephen. 

Hezekiah. 

Nathaniel and 

Abigail. 
Abigail. 
Ta:bitha. 
Aaron. 
Josiah. 
Elizabeth. 
Eunice. 
Ruth. 
Hannah. 
Rachel. 
Solomon. 
Mabel. 
Huldah. 
Burr. 
Ellenor. 
Andrew. 
Isaac. 
Mary. 
Benjamin. 
Stephen. 
Tabitha. 
Abigail. 
Thomas Nash. 
Aaron. 
Sarah. 



Jabez and Deborah Frost. 
Timodiy and Anne Hull. 
John and Sarah Read. 
Joseph and Sarah Rumsey 
Stephen and Rachel Mead. 
Eleazer and Lucy Smith, Jr. 
Samuel and Saraih Sanford. 
J<.nas and Elizabeth Pla'tt. 
Gershom and Anne Morehouse. 
John and Esther Rumsey. 
Jehu and Sarah Burr. 
William and Sarah Read. 
NehemiaJh and Rebecca Smith. 
Nathaniel and Eunice Bartlett. 
Jabez and Elizabeth Burr. 
Daniel and Grace Gold. 

Nathaniel and Abigail HuM. 
Daniel and Sarah Mallery 
Benjamin and Hannah Hambleton. 
Hezekiah and Hannah Sanford. 
Daniel and Sarah Meeker. 
John and Sarah Couch. 
Timothy and Anne Hull. 
John and Esther Bates. 
Daniel and Mary Dean. 

Nathaniel Griffin. 
John and Charity Bartram. 
Ebenezer and Ruth Hull. 
Ebenezer and Prudence Gilbert. 
Gurdon and Elenor Marchant. 
James and Thankful Baker. 
David Whitlock. 
Col. John and Saralh Read. 
Seth and Phebe Raymond. 
Abraham and Rachel Fairchild. 
Benjamin and Hannah Hambleton. 
Daniel and Mary Hull. 
Simon and Rebecca Couch 
Gershom and Anne Morehouse. 
Hezekiah Piatt. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



207 



y 2, 


1758. 


Aaron. 


« 


« 


Abigail. 


ig. 2^, 


(< 


Hannah. 


30, 


« 


Samuel. 


pt. 25, 


" 


Betty. 


:t. 8. 


(< 


John. 


;c. 20, 


'• 


Isaac. 


n. 14, 


1759- 


Erastus. 


28, 


(( 


David. 


3i» 


« 


Joseph. 


b. 4. 


(( 


John. 


•b. 25, 


" 


Anne. 


(< 


(< 


Jesse. 


« 


ti 


Ezra. 


)r. 15, 


It 


Jeremiah. 


ay 6, 


ft 


Samuel. 


13. 


n 
ti 


Esther. 
Zalmon. 


ne 10, 


'• 


Joseph. 


ly 8, 


tt 


Elizabeth. 


« 


n 


John. 


■ig. 26, 


<( 


Hezekiah. 


« 


(( 


Lucy- 


<< 


tt 


Hannah. 


pt. 9, 


tt 


Joel (daughter). 


« 


It 


Huildah. 


23. 


it 


Mabel. 


<< 


tt 


David. 


2C. 9. 


" 


Catherine. 


n. 6, 


1760. 


Walker. 


<< 


<< 


William. 


17- 


<( 


Sarah. 


^b. 3. 


<< 


Ezra. 


ch. 16, 


tt 


Gurdon. 


<( 


tt 


John. 


23. 


tt 


Ezra. 


pr. 19, 


It 


Eunice. 


ine 8, 


tt 


Mary. 


22, 


<< 


Jabez. 


<i 


tt 


Abigail. 


ug- 3. 


It 


Peter. 


17, 


II 


Esther. 



Elnathan Griffin. 
John and SaraJh Burr. 
Jabez and Mary Bulkley. 
John and Elizabeth Couch. 
William and Deliverance Truesdale 
Joseph Rumsey. 
James and Hannah Bartram. 
Ndhemiah and Rebecca Smith. 
John and Esther Rumsey. 
Paul and Mary Bartram. 
John and Sarah Davis. 
Nathaniel and Eunice Bartleitt. 
Samuel and Mary Ooley. 
Daniel and Sarah Coley. 
Daniel and Esther Sanford. 
Eleazer and Lucy Smith, Jr. 
Nathaniel and Abigail. 
Theophilus and Martha Hull. 
John and Charity Bartram. 
Daniel and Grace Gold. 
Timothy and Ann Hull. j 

Joseph and Eunice Dikeman. 
Elnathan and Deborah Sanford. 
Hezekiah and Hannah Saiaford. 
Jabez and Elizabeth Burr. 
Daniel and Mary Dean. 
John and Sarah Read. 
Samuel and Deborah Clugston. 
Nehemiah and Elizabeth Sanford. 
Elias and Tabitha Bates. 
William and Sarah Read. 
Ebenezer and Ruth Hull, jr. 
Hezekiah and Lydia Smith. 
Gurdon and Ellenor Marchant. 
Ebenezer and Prudence Gilbert. 
John and Esther Bates. 
John and Ruhamah Gray. 
Paul and Mary Bartram. 
Jabez and Mary Bartram. 
Hezekiah and Sarah Piatt. 
Daniel and Mary Hull. 
Stephen and Rachel Mead. 



208 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Sept. 28, 


1760. 


Seth Samuel 


Oct. 19, 


" 


Elias. 


Nov. 5, 


" 


Jane. 


Dec. 14, 


<< 


Huldah. 


17, 


(< 


David. 


Jan. II, 


1761. 


Esther. 


<( 


<( 


Seth. 


Feb. 5» 


<< 


Ellen. 


(( 


n 


Hulda'h. 


16, 


" 


Elias. 


(( 


(( 


Rebecca. 


Apr. 8, 


« 


Lucy. 


12, 


" 


Abraham. 


26, 


<< 


Eunice. 


May 10, 


(( 


Jeremiah. 


24, 


(( 


Abigail. 


(< 


(( 


Daniel. 


(< 


<( 


Benjamin, 


June 7, 


(( 


Hannah. 


14, 


(( 


Mary. 


21, 


(( 


Rachel. 


July 19, 


<< 


David. 


Aug. 16, 


(( 


Eli. 


Sept. 6, 


(( 


Isaac. 


Oct. 25, 


(< 


Thaddeus. 


Jan. 24, 


1762. 


Azariah. 


(< 


« 


Isaac. 


Feb. 28, 


(< 


Abigail. 


Apr. 4, 


<< 


Hezekiah. 


« 


« 


Justus. 


May 9, 


<< 


Hannah. 


June 6, 


(1 


Joel. 


13, 


(( 


Hiel. 


27. 


i< 


Jdhn. 


July 4, 


" 


Joseph. 


25. 


(( 


Henry. 


(( 


<( 


John. 


Aug. 8, 


(< 


Deborah. 


i5» 


(( 


Stephen. 


Oct. 3, 


(( 


Sarah. 


« 


« 


Sarah. 


« 


<< 


Hannah. 



Samuel and Lydia Smith. 

Seth and Rebecca Sanford. 

Gershom and Ann Morehouse. 

Stephen and Sarah Gray, 

Seth Hull, 

John and Sara'h Read. 

Benjamin and Hannah Hambleton.] 

Joseph Rumsey. 

Zalmon and Hulda'h Read. 

Elias and Tabitha Bates, 

Simon and Rebecca Couch. 

Jonathan and Eunice Couch. 

Timothy and Ann Hull. 

Nathaniel and Eunice Bartlett. 

David and Anne Jacocks. 

Elnathan Griffin, 

John Davis. 

Joseph and Eunice Dikeman, 

Jatez Frost, 

John Rumsey. 

Abraham and Rachel Fairchild. 

Samuel Coley, 

Daniel and Esther Sanford, 

David Whitlock, 

Stephen and Rachel Mead. 

Hezekiah and Lydia Smith. 

Isaac and Anne Gorbam. 

Isaac and Abigail Rumsey, 

Hezekiah and Hannah Sanford. 

Hezekiah Piatt, 

Ebenezer and Ruth Hull, 

Gurdon and Ellenor Marchant. 

William and Delia Truesdale. ■- 

Ebenezer Couch, Jr, 

William and Lydia Hawley, 

William and Sarah Read. 

John and Esther Bates, 

Ephraim and Deborah Osborn. 

Joseph Adams, 

Paul and Mary Bartram. 

John and Katherine Griffin. 

Stephen and Sarah Gray. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



209 



Dec. 5, 


1762. 


Nehemiah. 
Josiah. 


Jan. 16, 


1763. 


Elnathan. 


23, 




Eunice. 


Feb. 2.^, 




Huldah. 


Mch. 6, 




Ebenezer. 


20, 




Samuel. 


Apr. ID, 




David. 


19. 




Jane, Eunice, 
Esther, 


May 8, 


1763. 


Joseph. 
Sarah. 


15. 




Ruhamah. 


<( 




Ruth. 


June 19, 




Ann. 


<< 




Jeremiah. 


<< 




Eunice. 


<< 




Elizabeth. 


Sept. II, 




Joel. 


Oct. 16, 




Levi. 


23. 




Ezekiel. 


Nov. 6, 




Esther. 


20, 




Hezekiah. 


Jan. 15, 


1764. 


Hezekiah. 


22, 




Ellen. 


29, 




Martha. 


Feb. 12, 




Ephraim. 


26, 




Samuel. 


Mch. 3, 




John. 


II, 




Esther. 


<( 




Molle. 


Apr. q. 




Solomon Noble 


May 13, 




Esther. 


May 20, 




John. 


<< 




Phebe. 


<( 




Huldah. 


27, 




Daniek 


June 17, 




Anna. 


<i 




Sarah. 


24, 




Betsey. 


Aug. 26, 




Molle. 



Nehemiah and Elizabeth Sanford. 
James Rogers. 

Elnathan and Deborah Sanford. 
Nathaniel and Abigail Hull. 
Samuel and Anne Jacocks. 
Seth and Rebecca Sanford. 
Zalmon and Huldah Read. 
Timothy and Ann Hull. 

Richard Wepoat (on border of 

Greenfield). 
Joseph and Eunice Dikeman. 
Daniel and Sarah Mallery. 
Enos and Hannah Wheeler. 
James and Hannah Bartram. 
Gershom and Anne Morehouse, 
Isaac and Abigail Rumsey. 
John Dean. 

Onesimus and Eunice Coley. 
John and Ruhamah Gray. 
Lieut. Ebenezer Couch. 
David and Anna Jackson. 
Daniel and Mary Hull. 
Zachar}^ and Naomi Batterson. 
Hezekiah and Sarah Piatt. 
John and Molle Hull. 
John and Sarah Davis. 
Ephraim and Deborah Osboni. 
Elnathan Griffith. 
Moses and Anna Ward. 



Joseph and Hepsibah Sanford, 

John and Esther Rumsey. 

Abraham and Rachel Fairchild. 

Gurdon and Ellenor Marchant. 

John and Katherine Griffin, 

Jolhn Drew. 

Jonathan and Eunice Couch. 

Stephen and Sarah Gray. 

Jabez Frost. 

William and Deliverance Truesdale 



2IO 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Sept. 30, 


1764. 


Hezekialh. 


Oct. 14, 


<< 


Jonathan. 


(( 


(< 


WilHam. 


Nov. 4, 


(( 


John. 


Dec. 16, 


" 


Lydia. 


Jan. 27, 


1765. 


Abigail. 


31, 


(< 


Hint. 


Mch. 17. 


« 


Ezekiel. 


(( 


<< 


Esther. 


Apr. ID, 


" 


Ruth. 


14, 


(( 


Jerry. 


28. 


(( 


Anne. 


May 5, 


« 


Hill. 


(( 


<( 


Sarah. 


12, 


<( 


John. 


16, 


« 


Luana and 

•UOSMBJS 


May 26, 


(( 


Talcot. 


« 


<( 


Eli. 


(( 


(( 


John. 


(( 


(( 


Mary. 


June 2, 


<c 


Rene. 


(( 


i( 


Esther. 


9, 


(( 


Salle. 


Sept. 29, 


It 


Molle. 


Nov. 10, 


a 


Ellen. 


<< 


a 


Molle. 


Dec. 15, 


<( 


Zachariah. 


(( 


<i 


William. 


Jan. 19, 


1766. 


Anne. 


Feb. 2, 


i( 


David. 


9. 


It 


William. 


15. 


It 


Molle. 


Mch. 9, 


ti 


Joel. 


May 18, 


it 


WilHam. 


tc 


It 


Preserved. 


25. 


<< 


Daniel. 


June 8, 


(( 


nias. 


Aug. 10, 


<< 


Samuel. 


ti 


It 


Lucina. 


31. 


ti 


Hannali. 


« 


•' 


Stephen. 



Josepih and Joanna Adams. 
Nathaniel and Eunice Bartlett. 
Hezekiah and Hannah Sanford. 
John and Sarah Byington. 
William and Lydia Hawley. 
Simon and Rebecca Coudh. 
Jesse and Mabel Banks. 
Nathaniel and Abigail Hull. 
Enos Wheeler. 
Isaac Rumsey. 
James and Mabel Gray. 
Ebenezer and Elizabe^ Couch. 
Gershom and Anne Morehouse. 
John and Esther Bates. 
John and Sarah Read. 

Jesse and Sarah Piatt. 
William and Sarah Read. 
Zalmon and Huldah Read. 
John Dean. 

Zachariah and Naomi Batter&on. 
Daniel and Mary Dean. 
Samuel and Ann Jacocks. 
Joseph and Joanna Adams. 
Samuel and Sarah Rowley. 
Joseph and Joanna Adams. 
Abraham and Deborah Adams. 
Joseph and Hepsibah Sanford. 
William and Lydia Hawley. 
John Drew. 

David and Anna Jackson. 
Ephraim and Deborah Osbom. 
Jdin and Molle Hall. 
Seth and Rebecca Sanford. 
Hezekiah Piatt. 
Preserved Taylor. 
Daniel and Mary Hull 
Gurdon and Ellenor Mardhant. 
Timothy and Ann Hull. 
John and Sarali Byington. 
John and Saraih Couch. 
John Davis. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



211 



Aug. 31, 1766. 





E ii 




a 


Nov. 


II, " 


Sept. 


23. " 


Dec. 


28, " 


Feb. 


I, IT 




15. " 


Mdh. 


29. " 


Apr. 


12, " 


May 


3- ;; 


July 


5, " 


( 


a 




12, " 


Aug. 


22, " 


Sept. 


6, " 




13. " 




20, ^' 


Oct. 


25, " 


Nov. 


I, " 


( 


(I 


Der 


I, " 




6, " 




13, " 


Jan 


24, i7( 




30, '' 


Feb. 


4, " 




14, " 


Mch. 


6. " 


i 


(t 


i 


a 




7, " 




27. " 


May 


8, " 


June 









Mollie. 

Isaac. 

Eunice. 

Cloe. 

Jes&e. 

Esther. 

Simon. 

Joseph. 

Lydia. 

Hannah. 

Bille. 

Calvin. 

Eli. 

Csesar. 

Matilda. 

Aaron. 

Cloe. 

Lucy. 

Esther. 

Esther. 

Zalmon. 

Aaron. 

Lydia. 

Aradel. 

Aaron, 

Griswold. 

Sarah. 

Ellen. 

Stephen. 

Venus. 

Eben. 

Uriah. 

Eunice. 

Abigail. 

Ani. 

Ezekiel. 

Lucretia. 

Enoch. 

James. 

Isaiah. 

Noah. 

Tabitha, 



John and Katherine Griffin. 

Gersiiom Coley. 

Hezekiah Smith. 

James Rogers. 

Jesse and Mabel Banks. 

Nathaniel Hull. 

Isaac and Sarah Russica. 

Daniel and Sarah Mallery. 

John Dean. 

Enos Wheeler. 

William and Lvdia Hawley. 

Calvin Wheeler. 

Paul and Mary Bartram. 

Servant Samuel Smith. 

William and Sarah Read. 

Zalmon and Huldaih Read. 

Daniel and Esther Sanford. 

Gershom and Anne Morelhouse. 

John and Es'ther Bates. 

James and Eunice Wood. 

Hezekiah and Hannah Sanford. 

Joseph and Eunice Dikeman. 

Simon and Lydia Couch. 

Samuel and Anne Jacocks. 

Ephraim and Martha Jackson. 

Hezekiah Piatt. 

Ezekiel and Eunice Fairchild. 

Abraham Fairchild. 

Stephen and Rachd Mead. 

Servant Simon Couch. 

John Rumsey. 

Samuel and Sarah Sanford. 

Daniel and Anna Jackson. 

Joseph Adams. 

Abraham Adams. 

Nehemiah and Griswold Hull. 

Nathaniel and Eunice Bartlett. 

Gurdon and EUenor Marchant 

James and Ellenor Rogers. 

Joseph and Hepsebah Sanford, Jr. 

Isaac and Abigail Rumsey. 

Nehemiah and Rebecca Smith. 



212 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



July 31, 


1768. 


Maiy. 


(( 


<( 


Isaac. 


Aug. 28, 


<( 


Benjamin. 


Sept. 18, 


(< 


Stephen. 


11 


<( 


Joanna. 


25, 


.< 


Peter. 


<< 


<< 


John. 


Oct. 2, 


n 


Ruth. 


9. 


(< 


Elijah. 


21, 


" 


Clarissa. 


Odt. 23, 


l( 


Stephen. 


<< 


<< 


Esther. 


<( 


(< 


James. 


Dec. II, 


<< 


Lemuel. 


25. 


(( 


Hezekiah. 


Feb. 5, 


1769. 


Azariah. 


Apr. 9, 


<< 


Seth. 


19, 


« 


Sarah. 


May 5, 


<( 


Joseph. 


<< 


<( 


Peter. 


<< 


(( 


Ruhamali. 


7, 


(( 


Lydia. 


June II, 


It 


Reuben. 


17, 


It 


Ruth. 


July 23, 


II 


Daniel. 


(( 


It 


Eunice. 


(( 


It 


Molle. 


30, 


11 


Darius. 


n 


11 


Sarah. 


Aug. 6, 


it 


Betty. 


13, 


it 


Joseph. 


20, 


It 


David. 


27, 


It 


Lemuel. 


Dec. 17, 


It 


Thomas. 


Jan. 28, 


1770. 


Sarah. 


Mch. 24, 


(( 


Abner. 


25. 


It 


Nathan. 


Apr. 3, 


It 


Peter. 


(( 


It 


Hannah. 


29, 


II 


Abigail. 


July I, 


It 


Esther. 


<( 


it 


. Hannah. 



Oliver and Rachel Sanford. 

Joseph and Mary Meeker. 

Ezekiel and Sarah Sanford. 

Jabez Frost. 

Jesse and Mabel Banks. 

Stephen Hull. 

John and Kafcherine Griffin. 

Preserved Taylor. 

Seth and Rebecca Sanford. 

Dr. Asaael Fitch. 

Stephen and Sarah Gray. 

Stephen and Abigail Sanford. 

James and Eunice Wood. 

Elijah and Rhoda Burr. 

Timothy Hull. 

Benjamin and Katherine Meeker. 

Nehemiah St. John. 

Azur and Mary Hurlburt. 

William and Sarah Read. 

Enos Wheeler. 

Calvin Wheeler. 

Theophilus and Martha Hull. 

John and Sarah Byington. 

Paul and Mary Bartram. 

Azur and Mary Hurlburt. 

John Davis. 

Ephraim and Martba Jackson. 

Onesimus and Eunice Coley. 

William and Mary Stone. 

Gershom and Anne Morehouse. 

Jonathan and Eunice Couch. 

Oliver and Rache'l Sanford. 

Lemuel and Mary Sanford, Jr. 

Samuel and Sarah Sanford, 

Ezekiel and Sarah Sanford. 

.Ebenezer and Elizabeth Couch. 

Jolin and Esther Bates. 

Joseph and Eunice Dikeman. 

Preserved Taylor. 

Ezekiel and Eunice Fairdhild. 

Daniel and Ann Bartram. 

Dr. Asael Fitch. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



213 



Aug. 


26, 


1770. 


Esther. 


Sept. 


2, 


" 


Ezekiel. 




23. 


a 


Molle. 




30. 

< 

< 


a 
ti 

a 


Anna. 

Aaron. 
Sarah. 


Oct. 


14, 


« 


Cloe. 
John. 


Nov. 


18, 


a 


Huldah. 


Feb. 


3. 


I77I. 


Rebecca. 


^Mch. 


2, 


<( 


Benjamin. 




7, 


<< 


Samuel. 






<< 


Lemuel. 


Apr. 


14, 


<( 


Tabitha. 




28, 


(< 


Joseph. 




I 


a 


Joel. 




t 


(( 


Deborah. 


May 


5> 


(t 


John. 


< 




a 


Elizabeth. 




19. 


n 


Hezekiaili. 


June 


9> 


« 


Sarah. 


Aug. 


16, 


a 


Justus. 


Sept. 


I, 


<< 


Robert. 


( 




u 


John. 




8, 


(.' 


Peter. 




i5> 


<t 


Ephraim. 


Oct. 


6, 


" 


Lemuel. 


Nov. 


3. 


" 


Daniel. 




10, 


<< 


Elizabeth Rutih 


Dec. 


15. 


<( 


Abraham. 




29, 


"■ 


Molle. 


Jan. 


26, 


1772. 


Gurdon. 


Mch. 


I, 


<< 


Anne. 


Apr. 


II, 


(( 


Jone. 




12, 


« 


Abigail. 




19. 


<( 


Esther. 


May 


2, 


(( 


Mary. 




3> 


<( 


Squire. 


f( 




<< 


Stephen. 




ID, 


(( 


Rhoda. 


t( 




(< 


Daniel. 


June 


7, 


<( 


Eunice. 



John and Katherine Griffin. 
Paul and Mary Bartram. 
Joseph and Hepsibah Sanford. 
David and Anna Jackson. 
James and Ellenor Rogers. 
Daniel Couch. 
Silas and Witely Lee. 
Stephen and Abigail Sanford. 
Timothy and Mary Sanford. 
Jared and Mabel Meeker. 
Seth and Ellen Meeker. 
Seth and Rebecca Sanford. 
Gurdon and Ellenor Mardhant. 
William and Mary Slone. 
Joseph and Joanna Adams. 
John and Saraih Byington. 
Abraiham and Sarah Adams. 
John and Ru'hamah Gray. 
Elijah and Rhoda Burr. 
William and Lydia Hawley. 
Abijah and Huldah Fairchild. 
Justus and Hannah Bates. 
Hezekiah and Sarah Piatt. 
Martha Darling. 
Ephraim and Martha Jackson. 
Oliver and Rachel Sanford. 
William and Sarah Read. 
Jabez Frost. 

Gershom and Ann Morehouse. 
Abraham and Sarah Adams. 
David and Abiah Sanford. 
Daniel and Ann Bartram. 
Timothy Hull. 
(Slave) Isaac Gorham. 
Nathan and Mabel Coley. 
John and Sarah Davis. 
Daniel Couch. 
Obadiah Wood. 
Ephraim and Sarah Robbins. 
Preserved Taylor. 
Jared and Mabel Meeker. 
Hezekiah and Hannah Sanford. 



214 


HISTC 


June 14, 1772. 


Anna, 


a >< 


Ezekiel. 


July 5> " 


Aaron. 


Aug. 2, " 


Aaron. 


it a 


Eli. 


<< « 


Walter. 


(t n 


Mary, 


Aug. 16, " 


Elijah. 


Sept. 6, " 


Joseph. 


<< n 


En OS. 


20, " 


Abraham. 


24, " 


Simon. 


<' <( 


Lemuel. 


Oct. 4, " 


Elias. 


Nov. I, " 


Sarah. 


2Z, " 


Molle. 


Dec. 6, " 


John. 


13, " 


Mary. 


Jan. 10, 1773. 


Israel. 


it i{ 


Timothy. 


15, " 


Uriah. 


Feb. 28, " 


Anne. 


Mch. 28, " 


Jabez. 


30, " 


Mary. 


Apr. 18, " 


Phebe. 


May 2, " 


Mabel. 


(< « 


Rhoda. 


6, " 


Elias. 


9. " 


Ezra. 


Aug. 15, " 


Mary. 


29, " 


Seth. 


Sept. 19, " 


Hannah, 


tc it 


Eunice. 


tl (t 


Peg. 


Oct. 3, " 


James Gale 


Nov. 7, " 


John Read, 


21, " 


Ruth. 


Jan. 2, 1774. 


Elnathan. 


17, " 


David. 


Feb. 20, " 


David. 


Mch. 13, " 


Hezekiah. 


Apr. 10, " 


William. 


19, " 


Mabel. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



David and Anna Jackson. 

Ebenezer and Rachel Coley. 

John and Esther Bates. 

Ebenezer Couch. 

Jonathan Coudh. 

William and Mary Stone. 

David and Sarah Turney. 

Isaac Gray. 

Joseph and Grace Burr. 

Enos Wheeler. 

Michael Wood. 

Reuben and Prudence Salmon. 

Justus and Hannah Bates. 
Joseph and Mary Darling. 
Seth and Ellen Meeker. 
Stephen and Abigail Sanford. 
Ephraim and Sarah Robbins. 
Abraham and Joanna Adams. 
Daniel and Elizabeth Perry, Jr. 
James and Ellenor Rogers. 
Daniel and Anne Bartram. 
Henry and Hannah Hopkins. 

Michael Wood. 

Jesse and Mabel Banks. 

Lemuel and Mary Sanford. 

Nathaniel and Abigail Terrelh 

Paul and Mary Bartram. 

William and Sarah Read. 

Seth and Rebecca Sanford. 

Timothy and Elizabeth Parsons. 

Preserved Taylor. 

(Slave) Samuel Smith. 

Dr. Asaael Fitdi. 

Ephraim and Abigail Wheeler, Jr. 

Nathan Sanford. 

Aaron and Rebecca Barlow. 

David and Abiah Sanford. 

Jared and Mabel Meeker. 

Ephraim and Martha Jackson, 

Elijah Couch. 

Cornet and Sarah Hill. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



215 



Apr. 22, 1774. 


John. 


May 15, " 


Polle. 


29. '; 


Abigail. 


June 19, 


Molle. 


July 31, " 


Sarah. 


Sept. 4; " 


Eunice. 


n a 


Joseph. 


it << 


William. 


18, " 


Lemuel. 


Oct. 21, " 


Mary. 


Nov. 18, " 


Isabel. 


Dec. 4, " 


Samuel. 


i( a 


Moses. 


it ti 


Ellenor. 


18, " 


Molle. 


Jan. I, 1775- 


William. 


15. " 


Sarah. 


Feb. 3, " 


Uriah. 


5, " 


Benjamin. 


12, " 


Ninizo. 


« << 


Nanny. 


« " 


Tamar. 


19, " 


Betty. 


Mch. 5, '\^ 


Daniel. 


Apr. 9, 


William. 


n « 


Esther. 


It « 


Zalmon. 


May 14, 


Lois. 


June 25, 


Samuel 


<< <•• 


Sarah. 


July 16, " 


Aaron. 


<t (I 


Elnathan. 


24, " 


Huldah. 


I. " 


Eunice. 


Aug. 16, 


Ellen. 


Sept. 8,, " 


James. 


K « 


Jonah. 


Sept. 10, " 


Enoch. 


(I " 


Esther. 


24, " 


Eli. 


t( If 


Noah. 


Oct. 15, " 


Abigail . 


29, " 


Aaron. 



John and Saraih Fairchild. 
Gershom and Anne Morehouse, 
Oliver and Radhel Sanford. 
Joseph and Hepsibah Sanford. 
Abraham and Sarah Adams. . 
Jonathan and Eunice Couch. 
Elijah and Eunice Burr. 
William and Mary Slone. 
William and Lydia Hawley. 
Jesse and Mabel Banks. 
Daniel and Anna Rumsey. 
Levi and Rebecca Dikeman. 
David and Esther Jackson. 
David and Ann Bartram. 

Ezekiel and Abigail Sanford. 

Jonas and Elizabeth Piatt. 

Stephen and Lois Andrus. 

Michael Wood. 

Chauncey and Hannah Marchant. 

Slave Joseph Banks. 



Samuel and Abigail Piatt. 
Daniel and Mary Chapman. 
Phillip and Rachel Burritt. 
Jonathan and Elizabeth Person. 
Nathan and Mabel Coley. 
Augustus and Abigail Sanford. 
John and Sarah Davis. 
Daniel and Ann Rumsey. 
Joseph Adams. 
Aaron and Rebecca Barlow. 
Henry and Hannah Hopkins. 
Jared and Mabel Meeker. 
Timothy Person. 
James Green. 

Nathan Sanford. 

Stephen and Abigail Sanford. 

Eli and Hannah Nichols, Danbury. 

Silas and Witely Lee. 

Ephraim and Abigail Wheeler. 

John and Sarah Byington. 



2l6 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Nov. 25, 


1775- 


Eunice. 


Jan. 22, 


1776. 


Charks. 


28, 


« 


Ann. 


Mch. 10, 


<< 


Joseph. 


Apr. 6, 


1776. 


John. 


14, 


<c 


Daniel. 


21, 


<( 


Abigail. 


« 


« 


Samuel. 


24, 


« 


Azariah. 


28, 


« 


Enoch. 


<( 


<( 


Eli. 


May 5, 


« 


Sarah. 


12, 


a 


Anne. 


June 9, 


« 


Joseph Prindle. 


16, 


« 


Eunice. 


23, 


(< 


Esther. 


July 6, 


« 


Elijah. 


7, 


<( 


Mary. 


Sept. 8, 


« 


Ellis Abigail. 


(( 


« 


Abigail Ellis. 


(( 


« 


Abigail. 


(( 


« 


Seth. 


« 


it 


Joseph. 


22, 


it 


Daniel. 


Oct. 13, 


(< 


Rhoda. 


20, 


ft 


Gurdon. 


« 


<t 


Sarah. 


« 


it 


Abraham. 


^7, 


ft 


Timothy. 


Feb. 23, 


^777- 


David. 


Mch. 30, 


ft 


Clare. 


Apr. 13, 


a 


Esther. 


24, 


a 


Rebecca. 


May 4, 


a 


Polle. 


« 


it 


Bette. 


(( 


ti 


Samuel. 


18, 


tt 


Huldah. 


« 


tt 


Piatt. 


Jun€ 8, 


tt 


Abigail. 


<^ 


It 


Johnne. 


Aug. 24, 


ti 


Sarah. 


Sept. 7, 


tt 


Bettv. 


21, 


tt 


Sturges. 



Joseph and Eunice Guyer. 

Ephraim and Sarah Robbins. 

Hezekiah and Anne Read. 

Paul and Mary Bartram. 

Seth and Millison Meeker. 

David and Abiah Sanford. 

Timothy Hull. 

William and Mary Slone. 

Onesimus and Eunice Coley. 

Oliver and Rachel Sanford. 

Daniel and Elizabeth Perry. 

Thaddeus and Deborah Benedict. 

Levi and Reibecca Dikeman. 

James and Eunice Wood. 

Joseph and Esther Griffin. 

Stephen Jackson. 

John Abbott. 

Lemuel and Mary Sanford. 

Dr. Asael Fitch. 
(( it 

James and Ellenor Rogers. 
Neal McNeal. 

Joseph and Hannah Meeker. 
Stephen and Sarah Betts. 
Elijah and Eunice Burr. 
Daniel and Ann Bartram. 
Samuel and Abigail Piatt. 
Abraham and Sarah Adams. 
Abijah and Phebe Fairchild. 
Ephraim and Thankful Butler. 
Russell and Rachel Boutell. 
Michael Wood. 
Ezekiel Sanford. 
Gershom and Anne Morehouse. 
Phillip and Rachel Burrit. 
Aaron and Rebecca Barlow. 
Hezekiah and Hannah Sanford. 
Micajah Starr. 
Robert and Anne Stow. 
Chauncey and Hannah Marchant. 
Ephraim and Sarah Robbins. 
Daniel Rumsey. 
Augustus and Abigail Sanford. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



217 



Oct. 19, 1777. 
Nov. 2Z, " 
Dec. 14, " 
Jan. 4, 1778. 
23, " 



25, " 

Feb. I, " 

Mch. 14, " 

Apr. 12, " 



20, 



4, 
24, 



Nov. I, " 

Dec. 6, " 

Jan. 3, 1779. 

tt tt 

29, " 

31, " 



Sarah. 

Sarah. 

Levi. 

Zalmon. 

Betty. 

Aaron. 

Polle. 

Martha. 

Slauson. 

Abraham. 

Esther. 

Beth. 

Bille. 

Hannah. 

Molle. 

John. 

Henry. 

Isaac Rumsey. 

Nathan. 

Sarah, 

Sarah. 

Hannah. 

Isaac. 

Samuel Ward. 

Abigail. 

Nathan. 

Hezekiah, 

Anne. 

Jesiip. 

Obadiah. 

Elizabeth. 

Bette. 

Hannah. 

Esther. 

William. 

Ezekiel. 

Martha. 

Mary. 

Abigail. 

Dinah. 

Molle. 

Nehemiah Collins. 



Hezekiah and Anne Read. 
Robert and Anna Stow. 
Oliver and Rachel Sanford. 
Levi and Rebecca Dikeman. 
Hezekiah and Sarah Piatt. 



John and Esther Bates. 

tt tt 

Richard and Rebecca Youngs. 
Seth and Millison Meeker. 
Batterson (Jeremiah). 
Thaddeus and Deboraih Benedict 
Nathan Sanford. 
William and Mary Slone. 
John and Sarah Fairchild. 
William and Sarah Hoyt. 
(Adult.) 

Nathan and Mabd Coley. 
David and Abiah Sanford. 
John and Sarah Byington. 
John and Esther Griffin. 
Daniel and Elizabeth Perry, Jr. 
Jesse and Molle Benedict. 
Daniel and Esther Bartlett. 
Joseph Adams. 
William and Sarali Read. 
Daniel and Ann Bartram. 
Simon Couch, Jr. 
Samuel and Abigail Piatt. 
James and Ellen Rogers. 
Nathanaiel and Jane Barlow. 
Nathan and Phebe Burr. 

Samuel and Hannah Mallery. 
Ezekie'l and Abigail Sanford. 
Stephen Jackson. 
Benjamin and Mary Darling. 
Nehemiah Hull. 
Slave to Samuel Smith. 
Jonathan and Mabel Coudh. 
Joel and Sarah Smith. 



2l8 


HISl 


Feb. lo, 1779. Mabd. 


21, ' 


* Aaron. 


<( ( 


' Moses. 


(( I 


Phebe. 


28, ' 


' Eunice. 


Mch. 21, ' 


' Abijah. 


Apr. 4, ' 


' Sarah. 


May 9, ' 


' HannaJh. 


29, ' 


' Rene. 


June 13, ' 


' Stephen. 


20, ' 


' Abigail. 


« < 


Mary. 


Aug. 8, ' 


Mary. 


(( < 


' Daniel. 


15. ' 


' Grace. 


22, ' 


Olive. 


29, ' 


' Flora. 


Sept. 5, ' 


' Eunice. 


Oct. 10, ' 


' Martha. 


tt t 


' Daniel. 


Jan. 30, i; 


780. Eli. 


Feb. 3, ' 


' Zalmon. 


Feb. 27, ' 


' Mary. 


Mch. 5, ' 


' Jonathan. 


16, ' 


' Margaret. 


(( ( 


' Daniel. 


19. ' 


' Abigail. 


<< ( 


' Sarah. 


26, ' 


' Ellenor. 


tt t 


* Hiram. 


It f 


Ulilla. 


28, ' 


' John. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Jesse and Mabel Banks. 
Timothy and Elizabeth Parsons. 
David and Esther Jackson. 
John and Tabitha Marchant. 
Silas and Witely Lee. 
Phillip and Rachd Burrit. 
Micajah Starr. 

Chauncey and Hannah Marchant. 
James and Hannah Bartram. 
Aaron and Rebecca Barlow. 
Lemuel and Mary Sanford. 
Michael Wood. 
John and Mary Clugston. 
Robert and Anne Stow. 
Daniel and Sarah Gold. 
Bille and Ruth Morehouse. 
Russell and Rachel Bartlett. 
Daniel and Rachel Mallery. 
Asael Fitch. 
'vDanid Rumsey. 
Abraham and Sara^h Adams. 
Samuel and Huldah Smith. 
Timothy Sanford. 
Elijah and Eunice Coudh. 
Gen. Samuel Holden Parsons. 
John and Sarah Fairchild. 
Ezekiel and Abigail Sanford. 
Steplhen and Sarah Betts. 
Daniel and Anne Bartram. 
Thaddeus and Deboraih Benedict. 
Hezekiah and Anne Read. 
Ephraim and Rachel Robbins. 



Deaths. 



I^c. 7, 1734. Abigail, d. Ebenezer Ferr>', i 3-4 yrs. 

Mch. 19, 1736. Abigail, w. Peter Burr. 

Aug. 28, " Elizabeth, d. Asa Hull, 7 years. 

Sept. 3, " Deborah, d. Joshua Hull, 5 yrs. 

Mch. 22, 1737. , s. Samuel Smith, infant. 

May 29, " Jesse, s. Timothy Piatt, 2-3. 

Mch. 1738. Rebecca, d. Peter Mallery, 4 mos. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



219 



I74I. 



^ch. 2q, 1739. 
^ay 17, " 

an. 1740. 
29, " 

''■eb. 5, " 
21, " 
klch. 20, " 
^pr. 15, " 
2^, " 
line " 

)ct. 20, " 
uly 4, 

)€pt. 18, 
>Ct. 21, " 

an. 2, 1742. 

Vlay 1744. 

Sept. I, 1745. 

^ch. 14, 1754. 

ran. 28, 1755. 

^ch. ^y, " 

Vl-ay 16, " 

rune 3, " 

fune 22, " 

Sept. 2, " 

\pr. 26, 1757. 

sept. 23, " 

Mch. 8, 1758. 

II, " 

^PT. 28, " 

Feb. 2, 1759. 
May 5, " 

17, " 

Nov. 15, " 
Dec. 2, " 

Oct. 14, 1760. 

28, " 
Nov. 6, " 

II, " 
16, " 
26, " 



Hezekiah, s. John Read, 4 yrs. 

Seth, s. Samuel Smith. 

Richard Lyon, ae. 87 yrs. 

Elizabeth, d. Gershom Burril, 2-3. 

Anne Aldredge, d. Anne Corns, 4-5. 

John, s. Joseph Lee, 14 yrs. 

William Edwards, 22 yrs. 

Sarah, w. Samuel Chatfield, 34 yrs. 

Phillip, s. Deacon Burr, 13-14. 

Thomas, Indian Servt. John Read. 

Sarah, d. Adam Clark, 10 mos. 

Isaac Hall. 

Mary Hull, 17 yrs. 

Mary, w. David Gray (?) 

Nathaniel Gray. 

Nathan, s. James Bradley. 

, w. John Clugston. 

Ezra, s. John Bates, 8 mos. 

Mary Ann, d, William and Mary Raymond, 7 yrs. 

Esther, d. Ephraim and Elizabeth Sanford, 10 hrs. 

John Gray, about 47 yrs. 

Abigail, d. William Lee, 7 yrs. 

Elizabeth Morehouse. 

Eunice, d. Widow Hannah Gray, 8 mos. 
Tabitha, d. Benjamin & Hannah Hambleton i mo. 

Ensign John Read. 

Mary, d. Col. John Read, 4 days. 

Phebe, w. Seth Raymond, 20 yrs. 

John Clugston, 64 yrs. 

Samuel s. Eleazar and Lucy Smith, 2 yrs. 

Joseph, s. Paul and Mary Bartram, 4 days. 

Dinah, w. Parrow (slave), 46 years. 

Elizabeth, w. of John Clugston, 55 yrs. 

Joseph Johnson, 24 yrs. 

Daniel Barlow, 25 yrs. 

Esther, d. Nathaniel Hull, i 1-2 yrs. 

Ruth„ti.VStephen Betts, ^4 yrs. 

Arsena, w. James Gray, Jr. 

Elizabeth Hull, 64 yrs. 

Elizabeth, w. Jabez Burr, 42 yrs. 

Elizabeth, w. Stephen Burr, 62 yrs. 

Joseph Rumsey, 40 yrs. 



2 20 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Dec. 1 6, 1760. 

17, " 

Feb. 2, 1 761. 

7- '■ 
Feb. 25, 1 76 1. 
« (t 

Apr. 30, " 
May I, " 
June 18, " 
Dec. 5, 1762. 
Mch. 10, 1763. 

21, " 
5. 1764- 

19, " 
June 28, " 
July 16, - 
Jan. 20, 1765. 

Apr. 10, 1766. 
July 24, " 
Aug. 8, " 

Sept. 14, " 

Oct. 25, " 

Mch. 26, 1767. 

June 23, 

July 9, " 

Jan. 30, 1768. 

Feb. 7, " 

Mch. 7, " 

Apr. 24, " 

"4. 28, " 

May 5, " 

une II, 

July 7. " 

Nov. 6, " 

Feb. 2, 1769. 

9. 

June 18, " 

July 16, " 

Sept. 4, " 

26, " 



Abigail Bixby. 

Abigail Hull. 

Capt. Ephraim Sanford, 53 yrs. 

Daniel Rumsey, ^y yrs. 

, Nathaniel and Abigail Hull. 

Nanne, slave Benj. Darling, 15-16. 
Ensign Elias Bates. 

Phyllis, slave Benjamin Darling, 11 yrs. 
Scth, s. Benjamin Hambleton, 6 mos. 
Ruhamah, w. Calvin Wheeler, 19 yrs. 
- — ^ Sarah, w. Joseph Rumsey, 20-21. 
Stephen, s. Abner Taylor, 25 yrs. 
John, s. Anne Ward (and Mos'es), 7 yrs. 

, John and Sarah Read, at birtlh. j 

Eunice, w. John Clugston, 23-24. | 

Abraham, s. Abraham Fairdiild, 19 yrs. 
Lois, d. Benjamin and Katherine Meeker, 12 yrs., 
William, s. William and Lydia Hawley, infant. 
David Burr, 56 yrs. 
Deborah, w. Abraham Adams. 
Ruth, wid. Nathaniel Hunn, 67 yrs. 
Elnathan, s. Elnathan and Deboraih Sanford, 4 yrS: 
Abner, s. Gershom and Anna Morehouse, 17 yrs. 
Esther, d. Nathaniel Hull, infant. 
Abner Booth, 22 yrs. ! 

Joanna, w. Joseph Banks, 53 yrs. 
Matilda, d. William and Sarah Read, 6 mos. 
Venus, slave Simon Couch. 
David Bartram, about 60 yrs. 
Ezekiel, s. Nehemiah and Griswold Hull, infant. 
Mehetable, w. Josiah, 53 yrs. 
John Dikeman, 97 yrs. 
Ephraim Jackson, 65-6. 
'** Gershom Morehouse, 64 yrs. 
Elephalet, s, James Gray, 19 yrs. 
Capt. Samuel Sanford, 62 yrs. 

, Timothy and Mary Sanford, infant. 

George Hull, 83 yrs. 

Ruth, d. Paul and Mary Bartram, 11 hrs. 
Hannalh Hawley (Joseph), 59 yrs. 
Esther, d. Stephen and Abigail Sanford. 
, w. Thomas Williams, 84 yrs. 



bee. 


5, 


1769 


[eb. 


21, 


1770. 


lar. 


24, 


n 


Lpr. 


29, 


11 


lay 


15, 


it 


Jov. 


6, 


« 




12, 


i( 


)ec. 


8, 


tl 


/[ay 


29, 


I77I. 


)ec. 


12, 


(( 


( 


25> 




lay 


II, 


1772. 


lUg. 


21, 


(( 


an. 


II, 


1773- 


lay 


II, 


It 


.ug. 


28, 


li 


.pr. 


20, 


1774- 


[ay 


19, 


<( 


Lily 


22, 


(< 




31, 


<< 


ug- 


6, 


(( 




28, 


(( 


ct. 


5> 


li 


li 




It 




2. 


ii 




7. 


It 


ov. 


27, 


It 


ec. 


17, 


11 
tl 


eb. 


2, 


1775- 




4, 


(( 




5, 


(( 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 221 



-, w. Timothy Piatt, 62 yrs. 



Hill, s. of George and Anne Mordiouse, 5 yrs. 

Abner, s. Ebenezer and Elizabeth Q)uch. 

Jabez Burr. 

Daniel, s. Abraham Fairchild, 22 yrs. 

Gurdon Marchant, 46 yrs. :-■■ 

Rebecca, d. Daniel Meek-er, 20 yrs. 

Eunice, d. Dea. Lemuel Sanford, 25 yrs. 

Anna, d. David and Anna Jackson, 9 mos. 

Juiseph Hawley, 66 yrs. 

Parrow. 

Francis, s. Henry and Hannah Hopkins, i mo. 

Mary, d. Daniel Couch, 2 mos. 

Jdhn, s. Stephen Sanford, 2 yrs. 

Rhoda, w. Elijah Burr, 24 yrs. 

Betsey Canada (Burr), 17 yrs. 

Twins, Ghauncey and Hannah Marchant, birth. ^ — 

Mabel, d. Cornet and Sarah Hill, birth. 

Huldah, w. Abijah Fairchild, 27 yrs. 

Sarah, w. Col. John Read, 48 yrs. 

Widow Allen (supposed) 98 yrs. 

Squire, s. Obadiah Wood, 2 1-2 yrs. 

Ellen, w. Seth Wheeler, 23 yrs. 

Elnatban, s. Aaron and Rebecca Barlow, 10 y. 11 m. 

Ruth, d. Preserved Taylor, 7 yrs. 

Hannah, d. Preserved Taylor, 5 yrs. 

Eleazar Smith, 74 yrs. 

Darius, s. Onesimus Coley, 6 yrs. 

Mabel, d. Jesse and Mabel Banks, 2 yrs. 

Lemuel, s. Reuben and Prudence Salmon, 3 yrs. 

Nehemiali Smith. 

Daniel, s. Daniel and Abiah Sanford, 16 mos. 

Widow Sturges, 80 yrs. 

Es'tiher, w. Nathan Burr, 21 yrs. 



Records of marriages, baptisms and deaths of the Congregational 
hurch close with 1780, and do not begin again until 1809, in the pastor- 
;e of the Rev. Daniel Crocker. The early parish records of Christ 
piscopal Church are missing. The town record of vital statistics be- 
ins 1767, and ends in 1804. These records were kept in a fragmentary 
lanner, the town clerk seemingly having invited the heads of families at 
irious times to bring in for record a list of their children. 



222 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

From 1820 to 1832 ministers and Justices of the Peace reported mar- 
riages to the town clerk, under a State law; in 1832 a law was enacted 
compelling them to make such returns. 

The probate records of Redding date from 1839, and are in the hands 
of Judge John Nickerson, who is also town clerk, and has the custody of 
the town records. The clerk of the Congregational Society having 
charge of its records is John B. Sanford. From 181 2 to 1839 the Pro- 
bate records were kept in Danbury, where they may be found for those 
years. Prior to 181 2 they were in Fairfield. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Early Families of Redding.* 

ADAMS. 

Joseph Adams removed, when a young man, from Boston to Fair- 
field, and married soon after, Joanna Disbrow of Fairfield. About 1760 
he removed to Redding and settled in Lonetown on the farm later owned 
by his grandson, Stephen. He died May 18, 1826, age 86 years. His 
children were: Stephen, bapt. Aug. 15, 1762; 2, Hezekiah, bapt. Sept. 
30, 1764; 3, Ellen, bapt. Nov. 10, 1765; 4, Abigail, bapt. March 6, 1768; 
5, Joseph, bapt. April 28, 1771 ; 6, Israel, bapt. Jan. 10, 1773 ; 7, Aaron, 
bapt. July 16, 1775 ; 8, Nathan, bapt. Sept. 6, 1778. 

Of these children Stephen enlisted in the Continental Army and never 
returned. Hezekiah married Betty Parsons of Redding, and had Betsey, 
who married John Gray and settled in Norwalk; Stephen, who lived in 
the old homestead and died aged ninety-nine; Lemuel, who also lived in 
Redding, and died aged ninety-eight; 'Aaron, who removed to the west, 
and Elenor, who married Hawley Judd. Stephen married Polly Judd of 
Bethel, Conn., and had two children, twins, Henry and Harriet. Henry 
married Juliet Hawley of Monroe, and had three children, George Henry, 
Eugene and John. George Henry married Miss Emma Olmstead of 
Redding and had one child, who died in infancy. He died in 1878. 
Eugene married Miss Josephine Clark of Bethel, Oct. 30, 1872, and has 
one child. May Helen, who married Theodore Haight of Ridgefield, 

♦These notes are not intended as complete histories of the families mentioned, 
but rather as sketches of the early settlers of the town and as aids to the geneal- 
ogist. 

For complete histories the early records of Fairfield, Stratford, Norwalk, West- 
port, Newtown and Danbury should also be consulted. 




< 

Oh 
< 
U 

w 

►J 

X 



H 



-J 



[i c 



W 5 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



223 



:onn., June 16, 1904, and has one child, Eugene Milton, born Apr. 16, 
905. John married Miss Jennie Sherwood of Redding, and has one 
m, Clayton Sherwood, born Jan. 4, 1888. Mr. John Adams is foreman 
f the shipping department of the United States Armory at Springfield, 
lass. Mr. Henry Adams died Aug. 5, 1906. His wife, JuUet, died 
lov. 20, 1905. 

Lemuel, 2d, son of Hezekiah Adams, married Miss Rebecca Hoyt of 
(anbury, and had two children, Julia, who married Dr. Joseph E. Clark 
f Redding and had two children, Henrietta and Joseph, and Theodore, 
ho married Miss Sarah Gates of Newfane, Vt., and had two children, 
ulia R. and Edgar C. Julia R. died in girlhood. Edgar C. has been 
)r many years inspector in the United States Armory at Rock Island, 
linois. 

Mr. Theodore Adams, after holding a responsible position for thirty- 
ve years with the large carriage manufacturing firm of William H. 
mith, of Springfield, Mass., has recently come back to live in the old 
omestead of his father in Redding. 

Lemuel Adams held a captain's commission in the State Militia dur- 
ig the War of 1812, and at one time was detailed to take his company 
> the defense of New London, then menaced by a British fleet. 

Israel, sixth child of Joseph Adams, married Abigail Stowe, March 
3, 1796, and settled in Lonetown near his father. Their children were, 
hilo, Linda, Lucinda, John, Huldah, Betsey, Amanda, Polly and Minot, 
le latter now living, aged 88 years. Israel Adams died Sept. 27, 1838; 
is wife, Abigail, died Oct. 27, 1824. 

Joseph Adams, the original settler, died May 18, 1826, aged 86 years; 
is wife, Joanna Disbrow, died Nov. 5, 1829, aged 90 years. 

It is related of Hezekiah Adams, second son of Joseph the first, that 
)o young to enlist as a soldier in the Revolutionary Army, he entered 
le service as a teamster, and on one occasion drove a wagon, loaded with 
panish milled dollars, to Baltimore. 

Abraham Adams, brother of Joseph, was contemporary with him in 
.edding, and lived where Joseph Hill now resides. His wife was Sarah 

. Their children were: Ann, baptized March 6, 1768; Deborah, 

aptized April 28, 1771 ; Sarah, baptized July 31, 1774, died in infancy; 
arah, baptized October 20, 1776; Eli, baptized January 30, 1780. Fam- 
y record mentions a son Abraham. This family probably removed to 
le West. 

BANKS. 

Jesse Banks, son of Joseph Banks, of Fairfield, removed to Redding 
t an early day; married, June 11, 1763, Mabel Wheeler (town record 
lys Mehitable Wheeler). Their children were: Hyatt, born December 



224 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



9, 1764; Jesse, born October 29, 1766; Joanna, born July 27, 1768; Mabel, 
born October 2, 1772, died in infancy; Mary, born June 2^, 1774; Mabel, 
born November 17, 1776. 

Jesse married, December 15, 1787, Martha Summers. Mabel mar- 
ried Ebenezer Foot, August 29, 1797. Seth Banks also appears in Red- 
ding contemporary with Jesse; married Sarah Pickett, November 20, 
1766, and had children: Mehitable, born January 15, 1768, and Thomas; 
and perhaps others. 

BARLOW. 

The Barlow family in Redding is descended from John Barlow, whc 
appears in Fairfield as early as 1668, and died in 1674. Samuel Barlo\ 
son of Samuel Barlow, of Fairfield, grandson of John Barlow, he a soi 
of the first settler of that name, removed to Redding about 1740, anc 
settled in what is now Boston district, near the present residence of Brad-j 
ley Hill. He married, first, Eunice^ daughter of Daniel Bradley, of 
Fairfield, August 2, 1731. Their children were: Daniel, born Novem- 
ber 24, 1734; Ruhamah, born January 22, 1737; James, born January 29J 
1739; Jabez, born March 21, 1742. After the death of his first wifeJ 
Samuel Barlow married Esther, daughter of Nathaniel Hull, of ReddingJ 
August 7, 1774. She died August 28, 1775, aged fifty-four years. Theii 
children were: Nathaniel, born May 13, 1745; Aaron, born February 11^ 
1750; Samuel, born April 3, 1752; Joel, the poet, born March 24, 1754; 

Huldah, born . Mr. Samuel Barlow purchased his farm oi 

James Bradley for £2500. It consisted of 170 acres, with "buildings 
thereon," and was bounded on the north by the first cross Highway fror 
the rear of the long lots — without doubt the road before mentioned lead-j 
ing from Boston through the Centre to Redding Ridge. "This northei 
boundary," says Mr. Hill, ""together with the familiar names of the olc 
owners of property on the other side of the farm, and also the names oi 
such familiar localities on the farm as 'the boggs,' and the 'flat ridgeJ 
and the 'up and down road' leading to each from the main road, marfl 
this farm purchased by Samuel Barlow as being unmistakably the presen^ 
property of Bradley Hill, and the heirs of Gershom Hill. There was 01 
it at the time a good substantial dwelling-house of respectable size, erect-j 
ed by a previous owner, and which stood about four hundred feet west 
of the present residence of Bradley Hill, on the same side of the street 
The house was demolished in 1823. Having purchased this propei 
January 2, 1749, he undoubtedly located his family on it the following 
spring, as in subsequent deeds he is recognized as a resident of the 
'Parish of Reading.' It was here that Aaron, Samuel, Joel, and Huldah 
were born. It was here he lived and died, and from here he was buried 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



225 



ti the old cemetery west of the Congregational Church in Redding Cen- 
re." 

Of the children of Samuel Barlow, Daniel and Ruhamah died early, 
ames settled in Ridgefield, on a farm of 130 acres conveyed to him by 
is father March 30, 1770. He had four children : Samuel, who re- 
loved to the South ; Lewis, Abigail, and James, who settled in Vermont, 
abez, the youngest son by the first wife, settled in Ohio. 

Nathaniel Harlow married Jane Bradley, who was born May, 1744. 
'heir children were: Gershom, born October 21, 1865; died of con- 
[imption September 24, 1794. Esther, born September 30, 1767; a deaf 
lute; died May 10, 1783. Sarah, born January 16, 1770; died April 11, 
845. Jonathan, born April 14, 1772; died August 28, 1775. Betsey, 
orn August 2, 1778; died September 9, 1864. Huldah, born April 3, 
780, a deaf mute; died August 29, 1787. Mr. Nathaniel Barlow died 
)ecember 26, 1782. 

Aaron Barlow settled in Redding, in Umpawaug, on a farm purchas- 
d by his father several years before. He was a man of ability, tall, and 
ras of imposing bearing, and was an officer in the Revolution. He re- 
loved to Norfolk, Va., and died there of yellow fever. His children 
'eve: Elnathan, who died young; Elnathan, died in the war of 1812; 
amuel, removed to Ohio; Stephen was a lawyer in Ohio; Daniel, lived 
tid died in Redding; Aaron, died at sea; Esther, died at Norfolk, of 
ellow fever ; Joel, died in Redding ; Rebecca, lived and died in Redding ; 
nd Thomas, called after Thomas Paine by his uncle Joel. 

Thomas was educated and adopted by his uncle, the poet, and accom- 
anied him to France as his private secretary. He was also his com- 
anion on the fatal journey to Wilna. After the death of his uncle, 
'homas returned to America and established himself as a lawver in 
ittsburg, Pa., and died there. 

Of Joel Barlow, the poet, a full account is given elsewhere. 

BARTLETT. 

Fv.ev. Nathaniel Bartlett, second pastor of the Congregational Church 
L Redding, became a resident in 1753, and so remained until his death 
I 1810. He married, June 13, 1753, Mrs. Eunice Russell, of Bran- 
)rd, Conn. Their children were: Russell, bapt. June 9, 1754; Daniel 
., bapt. January 16, 1757; Anne, bapt. February 25, 1759; Eunice, 
ipt. April 26, 1761 ; Jonathan, bapt. October 14, 1764; Lucretia, bapt. 
[arch 27, 1768. Russell married, February 28, 1776, Rachel Taylor, 
id had children: Clare, bapt. March 30, 1777, and Flora, bapt. August 
), 1779. Daniel C. married Esther Read, January 7, 1778, and settled 

Amenia, N. Y., where some of his descendants now reside. Rev. 
mathan Bartlett married, first, Roda, daughter of Lemuel Sanford ; 



2 26 HISTORY OF REDDING. 



I 



second, Betsey Marvin, of Wilton ; and, third, Abigail, daughter of Lem- 
uel Sanford. He had no children. 

Sketches of Rev. Jonathan Bartlett, and of his father, Rev. Nathaniel 
Bartlett, are given in the history of the Congregational Church. 

BARTRAM. 

David Bartram removed from Fairfield to Redding as early as 
1733, in which year he appears as surveyor of highways. He was a 
farmer, and settled in Lonetown. He had five sons and three daughters 
born in Fairfield, viz. : David, Paul, James ; Daniel, born October 23, 
1745 ; John, Mabel, Hannah, and Betsey. All the sons settled in Red- 
ding. David married, April 30, 1762, Phebe Morehouse, by whom he 
had Joel, David, John, Jonathan, Hulda, Hepsy, and Phebe. (Family 
record.) Paul married, September 19, 1756, Mary Hawley. Their 
children were: Joseph, born January 28, 1758, died in infancy; Mary, 
born May 12, 1760; Sarah, born August 6, 1762; Eunice, born January 
3, 1765; Eli, born March 30, 1767; Ruth, born January 7, 1769; Ezekiel, 
born July 9, 1770, (Town record); Ezra, bapt. May 9, 1773; Joseph, 
bapt. March 10, 1776. (Family record mentions a daughter Olive.) Of 
these children, Mary married Jabez Burr, and removed to Clarendon, 
Vt. Sarah married Milo Palmer, and removed to the same place. Eu- 
nice married Daniel Parsons, of Redding. Eli married Dolly Lyon, of 
Redding; and about 1804 removed to Delaware Co., N. Y. His chil- 
dren were William, Belinda, Phebe, and Lodema. Ezekiel married 
Esther, daughter of Jonathan Parsons, of Redding. Their children 1 
were: Mary, Jared, Milo, Clarissa, Elizabeth, Jehu, Sarah, Elias, Ezra, 
Phebe, and Noah. One of his sons, Jehu, studied law and rose to emi- 
nence in the profession ; was judge, representative, and senator. Ezekiel 
removed to Ohio at an early day, and settled in Marion, where he resided 
until his death, March 15, 1845. Ezra was a sailor; married Elinor, 
daughter of Chauncey Merchant, of Redding, and quitting the sea, re- 
moved to Delaware Co., N. Y., where he died shortly after, leaving chil- 
dren — Joel M., Ezra, Uriah, and Lucy. Joseph removed first to Ver- 
mont, and afterward to Tioga Co., N. Y. Olive married Justus Stillson, 
of Redding, and removed to Groton, N. Y. 

James Bartram, son of David, settled in Redding. Was a private in 
the Revolution. Married Hannah Morehouse, who became the mother 
of twenty-one children, ten only of whom survived. These were : Isaac, 
born April 15, 1758; Noah, born 1760; James, born 1770; Aaron, born 
February 21, 1784; Lucy, Hannah, Betsey, Irena, and Anna. 

Of these children, Isaac settled in Redding ; married Molly Hamilton, 
by whom he had seven children : Isaac H., Harry, David, Willis, Chasie, 
Lucy, Polly, and Huldah. 




ISAAC H. BARTRAM. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



227 



Isaac H. Bartram, born May 22, 1785, married Lydia Piatt of Red- 
ding, November 11, 1811. Their children were: Betsey, born Aug. 5, 
1812, m. Charles B. Rich, of Richville, N. Y., Oct. 29, 1833; Mary Jane, 
born Feb. 27, 1814, married John Harrington, of Newsted, N. Y., Dec. 
22, 1861 ; Uriila, born 1816, died in 1822; Sally Hill, born Jan. 20, 1818, 
married Aaron Squire, of Weston, Apr. 14, 1834; Lydia, died in in- 
fancy; Lydia B., born Jan. 16, 1822, married Levi Drew of Bethel, Conn., 
Oct. 13, 1847; Abby, born Aug. 19, 1824, married Perry Fairchild, of 
Stepney, June 13, 1852; Adaline, born Dec. 29, i826,married AsabelP. 
Clapp, of Sharon, Oct., 1850; Lucy, born March 20, 1829, married Rev. 
Charles W. Lockwood, of Monroe, Apr. 23, 1850; Huldah, born July 4, 
1831, married Comfort Blake, of Napanoch, N. Y. ; Laura, born Sept. 9, 
1833, married Joel Osborne, of Redding, Nov. 9, 1852; Isaac Newton, 
born March 25, 1838, married Helen Delphine Winans, of New Haven, 
March 27, 1861 ; Ezra Albert, born Oct. 22, 1843, married Lucy Maria 
Stowe, of Redding, Oct. 22, 1862. Isaac H. Bartram died April 25, 
1864; his wife Lydia died Oct. 6, 1873. 

Aaron, son of Tames, also settled in Redding, married Eunice Jen- 
kins, and raised a large family of children. 

Daniel, fourth son of David, also settled in Redding, was a tanner 
and currier by trade, and built the first works of the kind'in the town, on 
the ground later occupied by Walter M. Edmonds for the same purpose. 
He married, October 10, 1768, Ann Merchant, of Redding. Their chil- 
dren were: Esther, born April 16, 1770; Gurdon, born October 25, 1771, 
died in infancy; Anna, born January 23, 1773, died in infancy; Elinor, 
born March i, 1774, died in infancy; Gurdon, born September 21, 1776; 

Anna, born August 10, 1778, married Mead, settled in Ridgefield; 

Elinor, born February 4, 1780, died in infancy; Uriah, born January 9, 

1782; Elinor, born October 28, 1783, married Nash, settled in 

Marion; Julilla, born November 12, 1785, married Bangs, settled 

in Central N. Y. ; Levi, born November 26, 1787; Phebe, born Septem- 
ber 19, 1790, married Curtin ; David, born June 5, 1795. At the 

time of Tryon's invasion, with nearly every other man in the town capa- 
ble of bearing arms, Daniel Bartram joined the militia and marched to 
the defence of Danbury. Being absent several days, he sent word to 
his wife that she must get some one to take the hides from the vats or 
they would spoil. There was not a man to be found ; and so the brave 
woman, leaving her four small children to amuse one another, caught 
her horse, hitched him to the bark mill, ground the bark, took the hides 
out, turned and repacked them and had just seated herself at the dinner- 
table when her husband rode up, having gained leave of absence for the 
purpose of attending to the matter. On the 3d of May, 1810, Daniel 
Bartram left Redding, accompanied by his wife, his four children, Uriah, 



2 28 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Levi, Phebe, and David, and several of his neighbors, for what was then 
the wilderness of Ohio. They arrived in Madison, Lake Co., Ohio, on 
the loth of June, where they settled, and where many of their descend- 
ants now reside. Daniel Bartram died in Madison, May 17, 181 7. His 
widow di^d August 3, 1835. Gurdon Bartram, the eldest son of Daniel, 
remained in Redding. He married, January i, 1804, Lorraine, daughter 
of Oliver Sanford, of Redding. Their children were: Aaron R., Lucy 
A., Barney, Coley, Betsey, Oliver, Daniel S., Ephraim, Levi, Frederick, 
Mary, and Julia. Gurdon Bartram died April 12, 1845, at the old home- 
stead later occupied by his grandson David. Uriah, second son of 
Daniel, settled in Madison, Ohio, where he died quite suddenly of heart- 
disease, June 28, 1830, leaving a wife and six children. Levi, third son 
of Daniel, settled in Madison, Ohio; married, June 17, 1813, Betsey Nott 
Walker, who was born in Ashford, Conn., April 29, 1790. Mr. Bartram 
died of heart-disease May 12, 1857, leaving a family of five children. 
His widow died June 13, 1863. David, fourth son of Daniel, also settled 
in Madison, and subsequently removed to Trumbull, Ashtabula Co., 
Ohio. He married, March 12, 1818, Elizabeth Gregory, formerly of 
Harpersfield, N. Y. They had six children. Mr. Bartram died of heart 
disease September 2, 1875. 

John Bartram, son of David the first, married, September 19, 1756, 
Charity Bulkley. Family record mentions two children, Sally and Sam- 
uel. 

BATES. 

Elias Bates was received to church membership in Redding, Janu- 
ary 19, 1745. His wife, Sarah, March 4, 1748. There is no hint of his 
previous residence, and he probably came here direct from England. 
His children recorded in Redding were: Justus, baptized July 26, 1747; 

and Sarah, baptized February 2, 1752 ; by a second wife, Tabitha , 

Walker, baptized January 6, 1760; Elias, baptized February 16, 1761, 
died in infancy. 

John Bates, probably son of Elias, married Esther . Their 

children were: Ezra, baptized March 2;^, 1760, died in infancy; John, 
baptized July 25, 1762; Sarah, baptized May 5, 1764; Esther, baptized 
August 23, 1767; Nathan, baptized March 25, 1770; Aaron, July i, 1772; 
Martha and Slawson, January 26, 1778. 

Justus Bates, son of Elias, married Hannah Coley, May 23, 1770. 
They had one child, Elias, baptized October 4, 1772, who married, No- 
vember 9, 1793, Lydia Andrews, of Redding, and was the father of three 
children — Walker, born June 4, 1796; Amaziah, born May 17, 1801 ; and 
Harriet, born May 21, 1804. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 2 29 

BEACH. 

John Beach, missionary of the Church of England in Redding, was 
born in Stratford, Conn., October 6, 1700. His father was Isaac Beach, 
son of John Beach who came from England in 1643. He graduated 

from Yale College in 1721. He married, first Sarah , who died in 

1756; and, second, Abigail Holbrook, who after his death returned to 
Derby. He had in all nine children. Those who had families were: 
Joseph, born September 26, 1727; Phebe, born 1729, married Daniel Hill 
of Redding, died 1751, leaving a son Abel; John, born 1734, married 
Phebe Curtis, died in 1791 ; Lazarus, born 1736, had two children, viz., 
Lazarus, born 1760, and Isaac, born 1773. 

Lazarus inherited his father's land in Redding, at Hopewell, near 
which he built his house. Lazarus Beach, Jr., was of a literary turn, and 
edited a paper at Bridgeport, and afterward at Washington, D. C. On 
his journey to the latter place he lost his trunk or valise, containing the 
Beach manuscripts, and all his materials gathered for the purpose of 
writing a memoir of his distinguished grandfather. He built the house 
now standing near Mr. Godfrey's. Isaac Beach built the house later 
occupied by Hull B. Bradley, now Mr. Noble Hoggson's. The Rev. 
John Beach lived about thirty or forty rods south of the church, proba- 
bly on the site of the old Captain Munger house, which has long since 
disappeared. Lucy, daughter of the Rev. John Beach, married Rev. Mr. 
Townsend, and was lost at sea on her passage to Nova Scotia, probably 
at the time of the great exodus of Loyalists after the Revolution. The 
mother of James Sanford, Sen., was the daughter of Lazarus and grand- 
daughter of Rev. John Beach. 

BENEDICT. 

The Benedicts were a Norwalk family and settled quite largely in 
Ridgefield. The first of the name whom I find in Redding was Thad- 
deus Benedict, who was a lawyer and town clerk for a term of years. 
His house stood in the lot adjoining the Congregational parsonage, near 
the site of the present residence of James Gregory. His law office was 
under the great elm in front of his house. He married Deborah Read, 
July 12, 1775, daughter of Colonel John Read, who bore him several 
children. 

BETTS. 

Lieutenant Stephen Betts, a prominent character in the Revolu- 
tion, lived on Redding Ridge, in a house that stood on the corner, nearly 
opposite the former residence of Francis A. Sanford. He was an active 
Whig, and was taken prisoner by the British on their march to Danbury 
in 1777. He had a son Daniel, and two or three daughters, of whom I 



230 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



have no record. His son Daniel was a merchant for a while on Redding 
Ridge and then removed to New Haven, where some of his children are 
now living. 

BURR. 

Among the earliest settlers of Redding were Jehu, Stephen and Peter 
Burr, sons of Daniel Burr, of Fairfield, and brothers of the Rev. Aaron 
Burr, President of Princeton College. They all appear at about the 
same time, viz., 1730. In October of that year Stephen Burr was 
elected a member of the first Society Committee of the parish. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth Hull, June 8th, 172 1. Children: Grace, born December 
I2th, 1724; Elizabeth, born January 17, 1728; Hezekiah, born September 
ist, 1730; Sarah, born November 9th, 1732; Martha, born March 24th, 
1735; Esther, born February 5th, 1743; Rebecca. He married, second, 
Abigail Hall, of New Jersey. He lived in a house that stood where Miss 
Burgess now lives. His only son, Hezekiah, died December, 1785, un- 
married. Of the daughters, Grace married Daniel Gold, Elizabeth mar- 
ried Reuben Squire, Sarah married Joseph Jackson, Martha married 
Zacariah Summers, Esther married Antony Angevine, and Rebecca, 
Seth Sanford. Deacon Stephen Burr died in 1779. Of him Colonel 
Aaron Burr wrote in his journal in Paris : "My uncle Stephen lived on 
milk punch, and at the age of eighty-six mounted by the stirrup a very 
gay horse, and galloped off with me twelve miles without stopping, and 
was I thought less fatigued than I." 

Peter Burr first appears in Redding as clerk of a society meeting held 
October nth, 1730. His children were Ellen, baptized September 
19, 1734; Sarah, baptized February 21st, 1736; Ezra, baptized January 
2d, 1737; Edmund, baptized September 28th, 1761. Peter Burr died in 
August, 1779. His children shortly after removed to Virginia. 

Jehu Burr and wife were admitted to church-membership in Redding 
September 24th, 1738. None of his children were recorded in Redding, 
and none, so far as known, settled there. He owned property in Fair- 
field, and probably spent the last years of his life there. 

Jabez Burr, son of Joseph Burr, of Fairfield, and his wife Elizabeth, 
appear in Redding as early as 1743. Their children were Elijah, bap- 
tized May 15th, 1743; Nathan, born January ist, 1745; Jabez, 

Ezekiel, born March 23d, 1755; Stephen, born January i6th, 1757; Joel, 
born September 9th, 1759; Eunice, Huldah, and Hannah. Jabez Burr 
died in 1770. He is said to have settled in the Saugatuck Valley, near 
the present residence of Stephen Burr, and to have built there the first 
grist-mill in the town. Of his children, Elijah married Roda Sanford, 
April 2d, 1767, and had children — Lemuel and Elizabeth; and by a sec- 
ond wife — Eunice Hawley, married April 27th, 1773 — Joseph, Roda, 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



231 



John (who died of yellow-fever in the West Indies), and Lucy, who mar- 
ried Jonathan Knapp, of Redding. Nathan, the second son, removed 
to Pawlings, Dutchess Co., N. Y., in 1792, and there founded a numer- 
ous and wealthy family. Jabez, the third son, married Mary, daughter 
of Paul Bartram, and removed to Clarendon, Vt., in 1786. He had one 
son, Aaron. Ezekiel, married Huldah Merchant, of Redding, who bore 
him three children : Aaron, who lived and died in the house nov/ owned 
by John Nickerson; William, who removed to Kentucky in 1816; and 
Huldah, who married Daniel Mallory in 1806, and removed to the West. 
A son of William Burr became President of the St. Louis National 
Bank. Another son, George, a teller in the same institution, was the 
companion of Prof. Wise in his late fatal balloon expedition, and shared 
the fate of the aeronaut. Stephen Burr married Mary Griffin, of Red- 
ding. His children were: Clara, Mary, Stephen, and Ezekiel. Joel 
Burr married Elizabeth Gold and settled in Ballston Springs, N. Y. 

BURRITT. 

William Burritt and wife were admitted members of the church De- 
cember 9th, 1739. No hint of their previous residence is given. Their 
children recorded at Redding were: Mary, baptized December i6th, 
1739; Abijah, January i8th, 1741 ; Roda, October 24, 1742; Sybil, Febru- 
ary 19, 1744. Gershom Burritt appears at the same time. His son Solo- 
mon was baptized August 5th, 1739; Noah. January 31st, 1742; Na- 
thaniel, October 17th, 1743; Isaac, July 21st, 1745. 

BURTON. 

Benjamin, son of Solomon Burton, baptized December 19th, 1742. 
Ruth, daughter, baptized October 7th, 1744. Solomon Burton and wife, 
church members July 5th, 1741. 

CHATFIELD. 

Samuel Chatfield and wife were admitted church members July 29th, 
1733. Their children recorded were: Samuel, baptized July 29th, 1733; 
Daniel, baptized August 31st, 1735; Sarah, April 17th, 1737; Martha, 
baptized May 20th, 1739. 

COUCH. 

Captain Samuel Couch, of Fairfield, was one of the largest landhold- 
ers in Redding at one time, and was largely instrumental in its settlement. 
He was, however, never resident here. Ebenezer Couch appears here as 
early as 1739. His children recorded were: Daniel, baptized July 29th, 
1739; Adea, baptized September 19th, 1742; Elijah, baptized July 26th, 
1747; Thesde, January 26th, 1755. 



232 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



The following children of John Couch and his wife Elizabeth are 
recorded: John, baptized March 20th, 1748; Stephen, January 21st, 
1753 ; Adria, baptized April 20th, 1755 ; Elizabeth, baptized July 17th, 
1757; Samuel, baptized August 30th, 1758. 

At an early day, nearly the entire district of Couch's Hill was pur- 
chased by Mr. Simon Couch, of Fairfield, who gave his name to the dis- 
trict purchased. His wife was Abigail Hall, a member of a notable 
Fairfield family. His will, dated March 2d, 1712-13, is still in the pos- 
session of the heirs of Mr. Nash Couch, of Couc^h's Hill, w'ho was a lineal 
descendant. In this will 'he gives his ''Negro man Jack" and "negro 
maid Jinne" to his wife, in addition to other bequests. His children men- 
tioned in the will were: Simon, Jr., Thomas, Abigail, Hannah, Sarah, 
Isabel, and Deborah. Thomas was lost at sea while on a voyage to Eng- 
land. Simon settled on his father's estate in Redding; married, Janu- 
ary 27th, 1753, Rebecca, daughter of Captain Thomas Nash, of Fair 
field. Their children, as given in the genealogy of the Nash family 
were: Abigail, baptized February loth, 1754, died young; Simon, bor 
May i8th, 1755, settled at Green's Farms; Thomas Nash, born April 
18th, 1758, settled in Redding; Rebecca, born January 31st, 1761 ; Abi- 
gail, baptized January 27th, 1765 ; Lydia, born October 20th, 1767. 
Deacon Simon Couch died April 25th, 1809. 

Thomas Couch, of Fairfield, removed to Redding prior to the Revo- 
lution, and settled on Umpawaug Hill. He married, April 2d, 1772, 
Sarah, daughter of Jonathan Nash, of Fairfield. Their children were: 
Sarah, born August 9th, 1773, died young; Thomas, born September 
23d, 1774; Jonathan, born February 13th, 1777, who was the father of 
Major-General Couch, distinguished in the War of the Rebellion; Sarah, 
born September i8th, 1779; Nathan, born September 25th, 1781 ; Esther, 
born December 14th, 1783; Moses, born October 2d, 1786; Edward, born 
March 7th, 1789; Hezekiah, born March 14th, 1791 ; Mary, born April 
2ist, 1793 ; John, born July 28th, 1795. Mr. Thomas Couch died in Red- 
ding in 1817. 

At the outbreak of the Revolution Thomas Couch enlisted in the pa- 
triot army, and was one of the band of heroes who were present with 
Montgomery at the siege of Quebec. He left his wife with their young 
children in Fairfield. When Tryon moved on that town, Mrs. Couch 
had what furniture and grain she could gather put into an ox cart drawn 
by two yoke of oxen, and started for Redding, where she owned land in 
iher own right. She followed on horseback, carrying her two dhildren 
in her arms. At the close of the war, Thomas joined his wife in Red- 
ding, where they continued to reside until death. 

Simon Couch, brother of Thomas, settled in Redding, on Umpawaug 
Hill, about the same time. He married, January 7th, 1776, Eleanor, 



I- 

J 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 233 

daughter of Jonathan Nas(h, of Fairfield. Their children were: Eliza- 
beth, born October 9th, 1776; Jessup, born August 3d, 1778; Seth, bom 
August 31st, 1780; Eleanor, born August 26th, 1782. Simon, born De- 
cember ist, 1784; Nash, born April 23d, 1787; Priscilla, born June 27th, 
1790; Edward, born July 14th, 1792; Simon A., born December 6th, 
1794; Caroline, born June 23d, 1801. Simon Couch died April i6th, 
1829. Of the children, Simon and Jessup graduated at Yale College. 
Jessup gralduated in 1802, and in 1804 removed to Ohillicothe, Ohio, 
where he practised law until his appointment as Judge of the Superior 
Court of Ohio in 181 5. This office he continued to hold until his death 
in 1 82 1. In the War of 1812 he was also aide-de-camp to Governor 
Meigs, of Ohio, and bearer of dispatches to General Hull. 

Simon Couch, his brother, settled at Marion, Ohio, where he practised 
medicine until his death in 1826. 

CROFUT. 

This family name has been variously spelled — Crofut, Crofutt, Crow- 
fut, &c. In Great Britain it is generally spelled Crofutt. An additional 
"f" was inserted in the name by David K., son of Eri, about 1850, for 
business reasons. It does not appear that the name was ever identical 
with the name Crawford. 

Matthew Crofut, born in Danbury in 171 1, is the first found of the 
name in the local records of Connecticut. Nothing further is known of 
him except that he had a son Benjamin, who married Abigail Wood. 

Matthew Crofut married Sarah Buck, in 1765, in Danbury. He was 
probably a son of the preceding. Children: Sarah and Samuel, 1767; 
Seely, 1768; Samuel, 1770; Ohloe, 1773; Eunice, 1775; Eri, 1778. 

Eri married Betsey Davarin, in 1798. They had children: Lois, 
1799; Paulina, 1801 ; Benedict, 1802; Minerva, 18 — ; Lucy Ann, 18 — ; 
David Knapp, 18 — ; Fidelia, 18 — . 

Benedict, born September, 1802, married Harriet Newell Hull, and 
had children: Paulina, Frederick, William Augustus (Jan. 29, 1835), 
Fidelia, Elizabeth, Emma, Charles. 

David Knapp (Croffut) married (1840) Harriet Treat. Chil- 
dren: William Augustus (Crofifut) married (1862) Margaret Marshall, 
of Danbury. Children: William Marsihall, Margaret, Zoe. Married 
(1892), (2nd) Bessie Ballard Nicholls, of Washington. 

DARLING. 

Eunice, daugihter of Joseph Darling, baptized January 25tih, 1736; 
Benjamin, baptized April 13th, 1738; Martha, January nth, 1741 ; 
Joseph, baptized November, 1743. 



2 34 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

FAIRCHILD. 

Thomas Fairchild removed to Redding from Norwalk in 1733; was 
one of the original members of the church. His wife Mary was ad- 
mitted January 29th, 1738. Their children recorded were: Timothy 
and William, baptized October 22d, 1738; Sarah, April 12th, 1741 ; Abi- 
jah, May 27th, 1744; Mary, October 27th, 1745. 

Eli, eldest son of David and Charlotte (Guyer) Fairchild, married 
, and in 1842 removed to Fairfield, Vt., where other Red- 
ding families had gone. His children living are: David S. (now Dean 
of the Medical College, Drake Univ., Des Moines, Iowa. See sketch, 
Chapter XIX); Mrs. Alton Johnson, of Sioux City, la.; Mrs. Horatio 
N, Burr, of Fairfield, Vt., and William H., a lawyer in Fairfield, Vt. 
The latter has two sons, Harold L., now in his junior year at the Uni- 
versity of Vermont, and Donald S., a student at Montpelier Seminary. 

Abram Fairchild, probably brother of above, came from Norwalk 
in 1746, and built the first fulling-mill in the town, near the site later oc- 
cupied by Deacon Foster's woolen-mill. His wife was Sarah Scribner, 
of Norwalk. Their children were: Abraham, born January ist, 1745, 
died aged 17 years; Ezekiel, born October 26th, 1746; Daniel, born De- 
cember 26th, 1748; Isaac, born March 4th, 175 1 ; David, born June 5th, 
1753; Samuel, born July 9th, 1755; Stephen, born March 7th, 1758; 
Rachel, born February 2d, 1761 ; John, born March 15th, 1764; Ellen, 
born October i6th, 1767. Six of these brothers were in the Revolution- 
ary army at one time. David was captured by the British, and confined 
in Trinity Church, New York. The small-pox was oommunicated to the 
prisoners — it is said with design, and he with many others died of the 
disease. Stephen was wounded at Ridgefield, bu; recovered; married 
Lizzie Fitch, of Wilton. Their children were: Daniel, Kier, Isaac, 
Ellen, and Stephen. Ezekiel married Eunice Andrews; had four chil- 
dren; Abraham, Sarah, Abigail, and Burr. Daniel married Betsey 
Mead, and removed to the West. Isaac married Rachel Banks, and re- 
moved to Liberty, N. Y. Samuel married Nabbie Piatt, of Redding, 
and had two children : Aaron and Betsey. John married Abigail Wake- 
man, of Weston. Their children were: Eli, David, Rachel, Moses, 
Henry, and Eliza. David married Charlotte Guyer, of Weston. Their 
children were: Eli, William, David, Mary, and John. Rachel married 
Seth Andrews, of Redding. Ellen married Minott Thomas, a Baptist 
clergyman. 

Stephen, Samuel, and John built a grist mill at an early day on the 
site of the one later known as Treadwell's mill. It was carried off by the 
great freshet of 1807, and the large stock of grain it contained was scat- 
tered over the meadows below. They also owned a saw-mill just be- 
low, and sawed plank for the soldiers' huts in the Revolution. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



235 



FOSTER. 

Reginald Foster, the founder of the family in America, came to this 
untry in 1638 with his five sons, Abraham, Reginald, William, Isaac, 
id Jacob, and settled at Ipswich, Essex Co., Mass. Jacob Foster was 
e ancestor of the Redding family. Jonah Foster settled in Redding 
out 1775; married Hannah Benedict, of Ridgefield, and shortly after 
moved to that town, and there resided until his death in 181 5. His 
n, Joel Foster, was born in Redding November 8th, 1780, and lived in 
idg'efield witih his parents until 'his marriage with Eseher Seymour in 
02. In 1803 he removed to Redding, and bought of Moses Fox a 
lall place, on which was a fulling-mill and other • conveniences for 
eapening cloths. This mill stood a little below the present bridge over 
Dbb's Creek brook, and the ruins of its dam are still to be seen. In 
04, Mr. Foster built an addition to his fulling-mill building, which 
IS leased to Zalmon Toucey, of Newtown, and in which Toucey erected 
zarding machine, paying a yearly rent of twenty dollars. 

How long Mr. Toucey's lease continued is not known, but he proba- 
/ soon reliquished it to Joel Foster, as the latter continued the business 
:til about the time of the opening of the War of 181 2, when a company 
IS formed, styled Comstock, Foster & Co., who built a woolen factory 
few rods below the old fulling-mill, and continued the manufacture of 
)olen goods during the entire period of the war, being very successful. 
le company, a few years after the war, was bought out by Joel Foster, 
10 continued the business until the burning of his factory in 1843 or 
44, when he retired. Mr. Foster died in 1854, aged seventy-four 
ars. He had four children, all born in Redding : Daniel, Betsey, Eliza, 
d Charles F. 

GOLD. 

Daniel, Samuel, and Stephen Gold (now written Gould) brothers, 
imbers of a Fairfield family that had been prominent in church and 
ite for several generations, were among the early settlers of the town, 
Dugh none of their descendants are now found among us. Daniel ap- 
ars first; he married Grace, daughter of Deacon Stephen Burr, and 
ed where James Lord later lived. His children, as named in the will 

Deacon Burr, were: Abigail, who married Richard Nichols; Esther, 
10 married Nathaniel Northrop; Sarah, who married David Turney; 
ary. who married Seth Price ; and Elizabeth. 

Samuel Gold settled in Lonetown, and built the house later owned 

Seth Todd. He was a soldier in the Revolution, and was wounded at 
2 skirmish in Ridgefield. Some of the officers of Putnam's command 
d their quarters at Mr. Gold's during their encampment in Redding. 
e married Sarah Piatt, of Redding. Their children were: Hezekiah, 



2^6 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Daniel, Burr, Aaron, Sarah, Polly, and Grace. Stephen Gold settled on 
the farm later owned by Timothy Piatt in Lonetown. 'He is called Cap- 
tain in the records. He did not long remain a resident of Redding, bul 
returned, it is said, to Greenfield. 

GORHAM. 

Isaac Gorham and his wife Ann first appear on the parish record; 
January 25th, 1762, when their son Isaac was baptized. There is no him 
of their former residence, but they were probably from Fairfield. I fine 
no further record of children. 

GRAY. 

Daniel Gray and wife were admitted church-members December 5thi 

1742. John Gray and wife February 9th, 1744, on the recommendatioi 
of Rev. Mr. Dickinson, of Norwalk. 

The only child of Daniel Gray recorded was James, baptized May 8tbt 

1743. The children of John Gray were: Hannah, baptized July ist; 
1744; Joseph, July 15th, 1753; Eunice, January 2d, 1755, and (by a sec 
end wife, Ruamah), Eunice, baptized April 13th, 1760; and Joel, Sep 
tember nth, 1763. 

Stephen, son of Stephen and Sarah Gray, was baptized May lotl; 
1747. Also Huldah, a daughter, December 14th, 1760. Hannah, Oc*to 
ber 3d, 1762 ; and Sarah, June 17th, 1764. James Gray, only son 
Daniel, married Mabel Phinney February 9th, 1764. Their childre 
were: Jesse, baptized April 14th, 1765; perhaps others. 

GRIFFIN. 

John Griffin appears in Redding as early as 1736. His children were 
Sarah, baptized May 9th, 1736; Annie, baptized October 22d, 1738; an 
Jonathan, baptized November 23d, 1746. He settled in West Reddingi 
near the Danbury line. 

HALL. 

The Halls were among the earliest settlers in Redding, the name aj 
pearing on the earliest petitions from the parish. In 1730, at the dii 
tribution of the estate of Samuel Hall, he is said to be of Chestnut Ridg 
in Reading. His children, as given, were: Ebenezer, Johanna, Jemimc 
and Rebecca. Isaac Hall, whose farm lay contiguous to Samuel's, wa 
one of the orginal church-members, and was recommended by Rev. M 
Chapman. He died in 1741. Asa Hall and Rachel his wife were ac 
mitted March 23d, 1736, on the same recommendation. I find no mer 
ticn of children. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



HAWLEY. 



237 



Joseph Hawley and wife were admitted church-members in Decem- 
3er, 1740, on recommendation of Rev. Mr. Gold, of Stratford. Their 
:h'iklren recorded were : Mary, baptized February /itlh, 1742 ; Rutih, 
^Jovember 5th,, 1746; Eunice, October 25th, 1750. Joseph Hawley died 
December 12th, 1771, aged sixty-six years. William Hawley, who ap- 
pears in Redding as early as 1762, was probably his son. He lived where 
idward Miller now lives ; married Lydia, daughter of Captain Thomas 
Slash, of Fairfield, July 12th, 1758. Their children were: Lydia, died 
n infancy; Joseph, born June 23d, 1762; settled in Redding; Lydia, born 
;)ecember 13th, 1763, married Aaron Sanford, of Redding; William, died 
n infancy; Bille, born February 9th, 1767, removed to the West; Heze- 
[iah, died in infancy; Hezekiah, born March loth, 1772; Lemuel, died 
^oung, of small-pox; William Hawley, died February i6th 1797. Mrs. 
-,ydia Hawley died April 26th, 181 2. 

HILL. 

The founder in America of this family was William Hill, who on 
lis arrival here about 1632, settled first at Dorchester, Mass., and short- 
f after removed to Windsor, on the Connecticut River, where he bought 
a/nd and set out an orchard. At an early day he removed to Fairfield, 
nd was among the early settlers of that town. He died in 1650. His 
hildren were: Sarah, William, Joseph, Ignatius, James, and Elizabeth. 

Villiam, the second child, married Elizabeth . Their children 

^ere: Sarah, William, Joseph, John, Eliphalet, Ignatius, and James. 

Villiam, the third, married , and had children, Sarah, William, 

oseph, and David. William Hill, the fourth, married Sarah . 

'heir children were : Joseph, William, and David. Deacon Joseph Hill, 
orn April i, 1699; married Abigail Dimon, March 30th, 1731. The 
hildren of this marriage were: Abigail, born March 21st, 1732; Sarah, 
orn August 21st, 1733; David, born April 22d, 1737; Ebenezer, born 
ebruary 26th, 1742 ; Jabez, born June 17th, 1744, and Moses, born Janu- 
ry nth, 1748. Of the sons, only Ebenezer, Jabez, and Moses married. 
'benezer married Mabel Sherwood, January 17th, 1765. Their children 
'ere: David, Ebenezer, Seth, Dimon, Joseph, Mabel, Eleanor, Jabez, 
pA Esther. Ebenezer, hiis second son, married S^arah, daugtiter oi Na- 
laniel Barlow, brother of the poet, in May, 1791. He removed to Red- 
ing early in life, and settled in Boston district. His children were: 
label, Nathaniel B., Gershom, Ebenezer, Moses, and Jabez. Jabez Hill, 
m of Deacon Joseph Hill, settled in Weston; was a major in the army 
f the Revolution ; married Sarah, daughter of Colonel John Read, of 
.edding. The children of this marriage were: Sara'h. John Read, and 



238 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Moses. Sarah married Timothy Piatt, of Redding. John Read settled 
in Redding at an early day, and became one of its wealthiest and best 
known residents. He began his business career by engaging in the 
manufacture of lime as before narrated, and on his retirement in 1823 
purchased the "manor" of his grandfather, Colonel John Read, where he 
continued to reside until his death in 1851. He married, March 23d, 
1799, Betsy, daug'hter of Aaron Sanford, of Redding. Thdr children 
were : Aaron Sanford, Moses, William Hawley, Betsy, John Lee, Morris, 
Lydia, and Joseph. 

John Lee Hill, fifth child of John R. Hill, born June 15, 1810, mar- 
ried Harriet N. Duncombe, eldest daug-hter of David Duncombe and Ruth 
Sanford, May 4, 1840. Their children were: William H., born May 1st, 
1845, ^"cl Josephine E., bom May 22, 1848. William H. Hill married, 
first, Mary A. Hotchkiss, daughter of Frederick A. Hotchkiss and Mary 
Parsons, of Redding, Oct. 5, 1869. She died October i, 1886; and Mr, 
Hill married, second, Miss Lauretta C. Ballard, Oct. 10, 1888. His chil- 
dren, all by the first wife, were: John Read Hill, born Dec. 27, 1870; 
Carrie L. Hill, born Nov. 5, 1872, died June 20, 1876; Frederick H. Hill, 
born July 18, 1874, and Ernest William Hill, born Jan. i, 1876. 

Of these children, John Read Hill married, June 24, 1896, Miss Min- 
nie E. McCollum, born Aug. 7, 1870, in Croton Falls, N, Y., and has 
one son, Berkley Hotchkiss, born Nov. 28, 1901. Mr. Hill, in Septem- 
ber, 1890, took a position with D. E. Rogers, of Danbury, in a house- 
furnishing and furniture store, which position he resigned in 1896 to be- 
come a member of the Danbury Hardware Company, of which corpora- 
tion he is now Secretary and Treasurer. He is also Secretary and Treas- 
urer of the Sanitary Plumbing and Heating Company of Danbury. Mr. 
Hill is a member of the First Congregational Church of Danbury, and 
of Union Lodge, No. 40, Free and Accepted Masons ; of Eureka Chapter, 
Royal Arch Masons; of Crusader Commandery, No. 10, Knights Tem- 
plar of Danbury ; of Pyramid Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and of 
Lafayette Consistory of the Scottish Rite of Bridgeport, Conn. He is 
also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He has repre- 
sented the First Ward in tfhe Common Council of Danbury four years, 

Frederick H. Hill married Maboth Wolfenden, April 17, 1901 ; has 
one son, Ernest Wolfenden, born March 30, 1906. Mr. Hill is in the 
jewelry manufacturing business at Attleboro, Mass. 

Ernest William Hill, graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, 
1900; married, Octo. 14, 1903, Gertrude Irvin, of Tuseola, 111. He is in 
the New York banking house of N. W. Harris & Co. 

Moses Hill, son of Deacon Joseph Hill, married Esther, daughter of 
Ebenezer Burr, of Fairfield, June 17th, 1773. The children by this mar- 
riage were : William, Abigail, and Es'liher. William married Betsey, 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 239 

LUghter of Nathaniel Barlow, brother of the poet, and had children, 
radley, Abigail, Horace, Burr, and William. 

HERON.* 

In Revolutionary days and before, Squire Heron lived in a house on 
edding Ridge, just south of the Episcopal Church. After the war be 
icame a prominent character in the town, and although somewhat bigot- 
i, and imbued with the Old World notions of caste and social distinc- 
ons, is said to have exercised a great deal of influence in public affairs, 
jpecially at town meetings. "We must keep down the underbrush" was 
favorite remark of his in speaking of the common people. The follow- 
ig story, illustrating in a marked manner the customs of the day, is ra- 
ted of him : 

At one of the annual' town meetings a somewhat illiterate man was 
ominated for grand juror. Squire Heron, in laced waistcoat, ruffles, 
nd velvet breeches, and aiding himself with his gold-headed cane, arose 

) oppose the motion. "Mr. Moderator," said he, "who is this ? 

Vhy, a man brought up in Hopewell woods : he fears neither God, man, 
or the devil. If elected, who will be responsible for his acts? Will 
'ou, Mr. Moderator — 'or I ? Why, sir, he can arrest anybody ; he can 
rrest your Honor, or even myself"; and with like cogent reasons suc- 
eeded in defeating the obnoxious candidate. 

Squire Heron died January 8th, 1819, aged seventy-seven years, and 
3 buried in the old Episcopal churchyard on Redding Ridge. His chil- 
Iren were: William, Maurice, Elizabeth, Lucy, Elosia, Margaret, and 
jusan. William never married. He lived on the old homested in Red- 
ling all his days, and was a man much respected in the community. His 
)rother Maurice graduated at Yale College, and shortly after was killed 
n a steamboat explosion on the Connecticut River, near Essex. 

HULL. 

v-^ By Clinton T. Hull, San Francisco, California. 

George Hull, born in England, about 1590, married at Crew Kerne, 
Somerset, England, August 27, 1614, Thamzen Michell, of Stockland, 
Engl. With his wife and children, he sailed from Plymouth, Devon, 
England, March 30, 1629, in the ship Mary and John, Captain Squeb; 
settled at Dorchester, Mass. ; was made freeman Mar. 4, 1632, represent- 
ative for the town to the first Great and General Court held in the colony. 
May 14, 1634. He was a member of the first board of selectmen of Dor- 
chester, and "appointed to fix the rate, 1633-1634." He moved to Wind- 
sor, Conn., 1636; surveyed Windsor, and Wethersfield; moved to Fair- 

*See Chapter vi, for a sketch of Squire Heron. 



240 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



field about 1646. His wife died previous to the removal to Fairfield. 
After 1654 he married, second, Sarah, widow of David Phippen, of Bos- 
ton. He was a member of the General Court of Connnecticut for many 
terms. He was Associate Magistrate, and with ex-Governor Ludlow, 
held a monopoly of the beaver trade on the Connecticut River. He died 
at Fairfield, Conn., 1659. His will, admitted to probate October 20, 
1659, names his children: i, Mary, bap. at Crew Kerne, Eng., July 27, 
1618; married Humphrey Pinney, of Dorchester, Mass. 2, Josiah, bap. 
in Crew Kerne, Nov. 5, 1620; married Elizabeth Loomis, at Windsor, 
Conn. 3, Elizabeth, bap. at Crew Kerne, Oct. 16, 1625 ; married Samuel 
Gaylord. 4, (2), Cornelius, married at Fairfield, Conn., Rebecca Jones, 
daughter of Rev. John Jones, pastor of the first church established in 
Fairfield. 5, Martha. 6, Naomi. 

Cornelius Hull, 2, (George i), born in England about 1626, came 
with his parents to Dorchester, and to Connecticut. He was a surveyor 
like his father, and a large land holder, there being thirty-one entries in 
the land records at Fairfield in which his name occurs. He was a deputy 
to the General Court eight terms; Lieut, for Fairfield County, May, 
1661 ; Lieut, of the Hon. Major Treat's Life Guard, February 25, 1675. 
(This was the crack corps of the Conn, levies at the time of King Philip's 
War.) October 26, 1675, he was ordered by the Governor and Council 
"to take two men, and make such discoveries of the enemy as you may, 
and post to us with all speed what intelligence you can of the enemies 
motions." For his services he received a grant of land. (Colonial 
Records, iv, 83, 84.) 

"The first house in Hull's Farms stood on the long lot which runs 
northward from Mr. John H. Hull's house. The grant of this long lot 
is recorded in the first volume of land records of the town of Fairfield: 
'Granted to Cornelius Hull by ye town of Fayerfieild a parsell of Land 
lying in ye woods Called his Long Lott, and bounded on ye Northeast 
with ye land of Steven Hedges deceased, on ye Southwest with ye land 
of John Burr, on ye Northwest with ye wildarness at ye farther end of 
ye town bounds, and on ye Southeast with ye half mill (mile?) Common. 
Recorded this 23 of Feb. 1686-7, ^"d is in bredth twenty-eight rods, re- 
sarvin to ye towne necessary highways.'" (From the Story of Hull's 
Farm, by Cyrus Sherwood Bradley.) 

"Oct. 13, 1692, Lieut. Cornelius Hull was appointed to lay out grants 
of land to John and Jehu Burr." (Colonial records, iv., 83, 84.) His 
will, dated September 16, proved Oct. 7, 1695, names his children: i, 
Samuel, married Deborah Beers, married second, widow, Jane (Hubbell) 
Frost, dau. of Richard Hubbell; 2, (3) Cornelius, Jr., married Sarah San- 
ford; 3, Captain Theophilus, married Mary Sanford; 4, Rebecca; 5, 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



241 



rah, married Robert Silliman, ancestor of Prof. Robert Silliman; 6, 
irtha, married Cornelius Seator. 

Cornelius Hull, Jr., 3, (Cornelius 2, George i) born at Fairfield about 
53, 1655, married Sarah Sanford, 5. (Ezekiel 4, Thomas 3, Anthony 
Ranulf Sanford i.) "Cornelius Hull, Jr., and wife, Sarah, were ad- 
;ted to full communion April 20, 1701." (Fairfield Church records.) 
eenfield Hill was made a parish 1725, with Cornelius Hull's name at 
; head of the list of its members. "He died May 7, 1740, when the 
age he had founded was bright with the beauty of spring time. He 
s buried in Greenfield Hill, where lie all the generations that have suc- 
ded him, and the handsome stone that marks his resting-place is still 
Droken. He was the first who had a farm there, so it was called Hull's 
rms." (From the Story of Hull's Farms.) His will, dated 1734-5, 
nes his children: i, George (4), born 1686, married Martha Gregory; 

Sarah, bap. August 26, 1694, married Sanford ; 3, Rebecca, bap. 

g. 26, 1694, married Meeker; 4, Nathaniel (4), bap. Apr. 7, 1695, 

rried Elizabeth Burr (See Todd's Burr Family) ; 5, Ebeneser (4), 

). Jan. 20, 1697, married Martha ?; 6, Elizabeth, bap. Oct. 15, 

)9, married June 8, 1721, Deacon Stephen Burr (for descendants see 
rr Family Genealogy) ; 7, Martha, bap. July 13, 1701, married Daniel 
2rwood, ancester of Cyrus Sherwood Bradley (author of "The Story 

Hull's Farms") ; 8, John (4), born about 1703, married Abigail ? 

Eleanor, bap. Sept. 15, 1706, married Plrerry; 10, Cornelius, Jr. 

I, born May 14, 1710, married Aug. 24, 1731, Abigail Rumsey. 
George Hull 4 (Cornelius, Jr. 3, Cornelius 2, George i), born at 
eenfield Hill, 1686; married Martha Gregory, daughter of Samuel 
egory of Stratfield, now called North Bridgeport. In the parish 
ords of Greenfield Hill : "There were admitted to membership George 
ill, and wife Martha, May 18, 1726, from Fairfield." It is probable 
.t they retained their membership in the church at Greenfield Hill un- 
the church was organized at Redding, as he seems to have moved to 
dding about 1724, from the fact that his name appears on a petition 
the General Court to be held in Hartford, May 25, 1725, in reference 
granting certain lands for a "Common." 

In May, 1729, permission was granted to establish a church in Red- 
ig. The following August a meeting was held for organization, of 
icb George Hull was chosen Moderator, and afterwards elected Dea- 
1. At a meeting of the church held May 8, 1732, Deacon George Hull 
s instructed to attend the Association meeting held at Stamford, to 
I advice as to extending a call to Mr. Mix to become their pastor, but 
Dears to have failed. At a meeting of the society, held January 31, 
32-3, George Hull was chosen Moderator, and a call was extended to 
ithaniel Hunn. By a deed, dated Danbury, May 19, 1729, a tract of 



242 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



land on Chestnut Ridge, between Danbury and Fairfield, was conveyed 
to George Hull, and his heirs, by Jonathan Squires. George Hull died 
Feb. 9, 1769. 

"We place his name with the name of his father, Cornelius Hull, 
Jr., the founder of Hull's Farms, with the name of his grandfather, 
Cornelius Hull, who was a Lieutenant in King Philip's War, and a repre- 
sentative to the general court for many years, with the name of his great- . 
grandfather, George Hull, the friend and assistant of Gov. Roger Lud- ; 
low. From them was inherited the ability which has distinguished the 1 
Hull Family for nearly two hundred years. Always restless, always 
pressing forward ; coming from England to help found Dorchester ; go- 
ing from Dorchester to help found Windsor ; going from Windsor to ( 
help found Fairfield ; going from Fairfield to found Hull's Farms ; go- ^ 
ing from Hull's Farms to help found Redding ; going from Redding 
westward with the march of civilization, they have left a name behind 
them of which their descendants may well be proud." (From the Story) 
of Hull's Farms.) 

His estate was distributed March 6, 1770, to his children: i, Abigail, I 
bap. at Fairfield, 1712, died young; 2, Mary, bap. , married Jona- 
than Squires; 3, Joseph, bap. at Fairfield, Oct. 9, 1715; 4, Abigail, the 
second, bapt. in Fairfield, June 7, 1721, died Dec. 17, 1760; 5, Thaddeus, 
bap. at Fairfield, April 14, 1723, died about 1761, unmarried; 6, George, 
Jr., bap. in Greenfield Hill, Sept. 24, 1727 ; 7, Martha, bap. in Greenfield 
Hill, Sept. 22, 1731, married Bixby; 8, Seth Hull (5), bap. in Red- 
ding, July 29, 1733, married Elizabeth Mallory; 9, Rebecca, bap. in Red- 
ding, May 25, 1735. 

Seth Hull, 5, bap. in Redding, July 19, 1733, married Elizabeth Mal- 
lory; she was born Dec. 22, 1738, and died Feb. 22, 1795. Seth Hull 
died April 15, 1795. Children: i, Abigail, born Jan. 28, 1762, married 
Hezekiah Read, two of their descendants were Elaine and Dora Read 
Goodale, the poets; 2, Jonathan (6), born Oct. 25, 1763, married Eunice 
Beach; 3, Eliphalet, born Dec, 1765, married Prudence Smith, of Brook- 
field; 4, Walter, born Nov. 21, 1767, drowned at sea off Capt Hatteras, 
N. C, Mar. 6, 1804; 5, Lazarus, born January 16, 1770, married, Nov. 
2, 1794, Anna Read; they moved to Sharon, Mich., where he died Sept. 
12, 1838; 6, Hezekiah, born Mar. 24, 1772, died at Redding, Sept. 23, 
1810; 7, Martha, born Apr. 28, 1774, married David Belden, an Episcopal 
minister, had one son, John A. Belden, whose daughter married Levi 
Warren, M. D. ; 8, Eleanor, born Nov. 20, 1775, died at Redding, 1778; 
9, Elizabeth, born June 12, 1779, married Henry A. Townsend; 10, Sarah, 
born Dec. 20, 1784, died May 27, 1828. 

Jonathan Hull, 6, (Seth 5), born Oct. 25, 1763, married Eunice 
Beach daughter of Lazarus and Lydia (Sanford) Beach; she was born 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



243 



Nov. 23, 1769, died Sept. 19, 1822. Jonathan Hull owned vessels trad- 
,| ing to the West Indies, having a very excellent and prosperous business, 
but the interruptions caused by the Napoleonic wars, compelled him to 
retire with a loss of nearly all 'his capital. With his son Seth he deter- 
f mined to try his fortune in the new lands Which were then being opened 
' in the West. They went to the head- waters of the Allegheny River, 
where they built a flat boat, in which they floated down that river to the 
' Ohio, and down the Ohio to Shawneetown, Illinois, where they com- 
' menced to make a settlement, but soon afterwards, that is, on Dec. i, 
1820, Jonathan was accidentally killed. Children: i, Lemuel Beach Hull, 
\ (7), born April 10, 1792, married, Oct. 18, 1824, Polly Waterbury; 2, 
Eleanor, born May 20, 1794, died Sept. 21, 1814; 3, Seth, born July 31, 
1796; May 22, 1823, married Nabby Eveleth. He went wifch his fafher 
i to the head-waters of Allegheny River, where they budlt a flat boat in 
which they floated down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers to Shawnee- 
town. Illinois. His father, Jonathan, was killed in a mill, in which he 
was working, at Newhaven, Gallatin Co., 111., Dec. i, 1820. Seth moved 
to the village of Newhaven, where he joined the Owen Community, and 
died April, 1835. 

Lemuel Beach Hull (7), (Jonathan 6), born April 10, 1792, was ap- 
prenticed to a tanner, and served his full time, but his mind turned to 
theological subjects, which being noticed by one of his wealthy relatives, 
he was enabled to take a regular course at a theological institute, after 
which he was ordained rector of Christ Episcopal Church of Redding, 
1824, and served until 1836. Oct. 18, 1824, he married Polly Waterbury; 
she was born Apr. 19, 1800, died Aug. i, 1881. Children: i, Eleanor 
Susan, born July 13, 1825, died January 27, 1875 ; 2, HLannah White, born 
Mar. 27, 1827, died Sept. 6, 1843; 3> •^''^"* Beach Hull (8), born Sept. 17, 

1828, married ? died March 17, 1891 ; children: i, Walter B. Hull; 

2, Clara Hull, now living at Milwaukee, Wis. 

Nathaniel Hull 4, (CorneUus, Jr. 3), bap. Apr. 7, 1695; married, 
Nov. 29, 1 716, Elizabeth Burr, daughter of Daniel Burr. He died 1749. 
His estate was appraised at £6639 15 shillings, a very large estate for 
those days. Their children were: Sarah, Elizabeth, Esther, Stephen, 
Nathaniel, Jr., Peter, Sarah, the second, Ezekiel, David, Aaron, Silas, 
and Hannah. Esther, daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Burr) Hull, 
was the second wife of Samuel Barlow; one of their children was Joel 
Barlow, the poet, and Minister to France. Stephen, son of Nathaniel 
and Elizabeth (Burr) Hull, married Hannah E. Wakeman. Their chil- 
dren were: Sarah, Rouhamah, David, William, Wakeman, Peter, and 
Walter. 

Nathaniel Hull, Jr. 5, son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth, married Abi- 
gail Piatt, daughter of Timothy and Margery (Smith) Piatt. They 



244 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



moved to New York State, settling not far from Poughkeepsie. Their 
children were: Samuel, Nathaniel, Jr., Abigail, Esther, Daniel, Eunice, 
Ezekiel, and Esther. Of these children, Samuel, 6, married a French 
lad}', Bathena Norton, moved to Southwest Virginia about 1789, and set- 
tled where Marion now stands in Smyth County. One of his descend- 
ants, David D. Hull, and his daughter, Jennie Bane Hull, reside at 
Marion, Va. Mrs. W. S. Staley, a sister of David D. Hull, took great 
interest in the Hull family history, and had collected a large and valuable 
amount of records of her branch of the family, which is now in the pos- 
session of her niece, Jennie Bane Hull, of Marion, Va. Other descend- 
ants of Samuel 6 (Nathaniel, Jr. 5), are, Mrs. Smith, and her daughter, 
Mrs. Churchill, Kinderhook, 111. ; Mrs. Lusk, Ouincy, 111. ; Mrs. Reed, 
Camppoint, III. ; Mrs. Jennings, Oregon City, Oregon, and Mrs. Ostran- 
der, Goldendale, Wash. 

Ezekiel Hull 6 (Nathaniel, Jr. 5) married, moved to Virginia with 
his brother Samuel, but soon after moved to Ohio; he raised a large 
family, some of whom moved to Indiana, and to Pike County, Illinois, 
where a post office was established, named Hull for one of them, and E. 
S. Hull, one of the descendants is the present postmaster. Another 
descendant is Rev. Moses Hull, President of the Spiritualist College, 
White Water, Wisconsin. 

Nathaniel Hull, Jr. 6 (Nathaniel, Jr. 5), brother of Samuel and 
Ezekiel, went West in an early day, engaged in fighting Indians in Ken- 
tucky, and then moved to Illinois. He was Commandant of Fort Kas- 
kaskia for a number of years. About the year 1800 he returned to his 
old home in the East, and was accompanied by his brother Daniel. One 
of his descendants, M. J. Hull, resides in Washington, D. C, another, 
Mrs. Cox, in San Francisco, California. 

Silas PIull 5 (Nathaniel 4) married Huldah Goodsell; second, Ellen 

Bradley ; third Smith ; fourth, Elizabeth Hoyt. Children : Hannah, 

married Phillip Keeler; Huldah, married Jeremiah Keeler; Bradley, mar- 
ried Mary Chapman Hull, daughter of Lieut. Jedediah Hull 5 (Cornelius, 
Jr. 4). The other children of Silas were, David, and Sarah, who died 
young. 

Bradley Hull 6 (Silas 5) and Mary Chapman (Hull), had. Burr, 
Pamelia (who married Elias Burchard; one daughter, Miss Mary Burch- 
ard, resides in Mill Plain, Conn.), Cherry (married George Crofut), 
Silas, Aaron B. (married Electa Love), Charles R. and Mary. 

Aaron B. 7 (Bradley 6) and Electa (Love) Hull, had Henry A., whO' 
rendered distinguished service in the Civil War, 1861-65, and is now a 
prominent dentist at New Brunswick, N. J. ; Graham, a soldier in the 
Civil War, whose daughter, Laura B., married Anthony Rurtdle, Danbury, 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



245 



Conn. ; Bradley, a dentist in Cleveland, Ohio, and Rev. Albert, an Episco- 
pal minister in New York. 

Bradley Hull 6 (Silas 5), married, second, Susan Hubbell, and had: 
Bradley Hubbell, Moses Chapman, LeGrand, and Susan Cornelie. 

Bradley Hubbell Hull 7 (Bradley 6), married Mary Peabody Hull 8 
(George 7, Chapman 6, Lieut. Jedediah 5). Children: George, Mau- 
rice, Henry, DeWitt, and Caroline. George 8 married Anna Bouton, re- 
sides in Bridgeport, Conn. ; Maurice 8, married Julia Henderson, Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. ; Dewitt 8. married Delia Burr, South Wilton, Conn. ; Henry 8 
and Caroline 8 died young. 

Ebenezer Hull 4 (Cornelius, Jr. 3), bap. January 20, 1697; married 
Martha ? "Among those admitted to full communion were Ebe- 
nezer Hull and wife Martha." (From Fairfield Church records.) In 
Greenfield Hill Parish records we find : "Among those admitted to mem- 
bership, Ebenezer Hull, of Fairfield, May 18, 1726." It is possible that 
they did not move to Greenfield Hill, but transferred their membership 
to that place till a church should be organized in Redding, where he 
moved about 1724, as his name appears on a "Petition to the General 
Court, to be held in Hartford, the second Thursday in May, 1725." The 
General Court of 17 12 had ordered that all the lands lying between Dan- 
bury and Fairfield, not taken up by actual settlers, should be sold at pub- 
lic auction in Fairfield. The land was not sold till Aug., 1722, and no 
notice of sale having been given to the settlers, it was bid off by Captain 
Samuel Couch, for himself, and Nathan Gold, Esq. When the news of 
the sale reached the settlers, they addressed a petition to the Gen. Court, 
asking that body to annul the sale, but failed, and a second petition was 
sent to the Gen. Court of 1725, which is signed by Ebenezer Hull. The 
first church was organized in Redding 1729. On June 5th of that year 
the first society meeting was held, at which one of the three places for 
posting notices of meetings, was "In the lane by Ebenezer Hull's house." 
The place where this house stood can not now be located. The records of 
the First Church of Christ in Redding read : "Among the original mem- 
bers were Ebenezer Hull and wife from Greenfield Hill." He was ap- 
pointed on the Grand Jury, 1745. Children: Daniel, Ebenezer, Abigail 
and Nehemiah. 

Daniel Hull 5 (Ebenezer 4), 13001 1722; married, 1748, Mary Betts, 
daughter of Stephen Betts of Redding. Daniel Hull was Lieut, in the 
Redding Company, May, 1754, and captain of the same company, Octo- 
ber, 1759 (Colonial records of Conn., Vols. 10 and 11). Redding was 
incorporated at the May session of 1767, and ^t the first town meeting, 
held June, 1767, Daniel Hull was chosen Constable. With his wife and 
■children he moved to New York State in 1770, and settled where South 
Berlin nov/ stands in Rensselaer County. He was a Lieut, in the Sixth 



246 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Albany Regiment in the Revolutionary War, and a Magistrate for the 
county which was then called Albany. He died 1811. Children born in 
Redding: i, Martha, married Ephraim Jackson, moved to Addison, 
Vermont ; 2, Hezekiah, was a Lieut, in the Sixth Albany Regiment, mar- 
ried Lucy Randall ; 3, Justus, was a sergeant in the Revolutionary War, 
under Col. Van Rensselaer, and took a prominent part in the attack on 
Fort Edward ; he entered the ministry of the Baptist Church, and devot- 
ed fifty-six years of his life to that work ; was at one time pastor of the 
church at Danbury; 4, Abigail, married Samuel Hamlin; 5, Peter, was 
a soldier in Capt, Shaw's Co. of the Sixth Regiment, married Amy Day; 
6, Esther, died young ; 7, Daniel, Jr., married Phebe Green ; he inherited 
the home farm, and it remained in the possession of his descendants one 
hundred and twenty-five years ; 8, Stephen Betts Hull, born in Redding, 
Conn., 1769; moved with his parents to N. Y. ; married Betsey Reynolds; 
married, second. Electa Morgan ; 9, Harry, born in N. Y. ; 10, Ebenezer, 
born in N. Y. 

Of the descendants of these children of Daniel 5 (Ebenezer 4), now 
living, there are : Halbert D. Hull, Troy, N. Y. ; his daughter, Mrs. 
Pratt G. Smith, Utica, N. Y. ; Mrs. Maria E. Tifft, Buffalo, N. Y. ; Har- 
vey Hull, West Burlington, N. Y. ; Frank S. Hull, Newburg<h, N. Y. ; Mrs. 
Phebe A. Vary, Newark, N. Y. ; Morton D. Hull, Chicago, 111.; Mrs. 
Mabel (Hull) Bear, Chicago, III; Miss Julia E. Hull, Stillman Valley, 
111.; Mrs. Helen M. Vars, Edelstein, 111.; Mrs. J. H. Towne, Woon- 
socket, R. I.; Arthur D. Hull, Newark, N. Y. ; Hull McClaughray, As- 
sistant Postmaster of San Francisco ; Clinton T. Hull, San Francisco, 
and the descendants of Rev. Cyrus Betts Hull, who died at Willow, Glenn 
County, California, Oct. 27, 1905, aged 89 years, i m., 27 days, leaving 
10 children, 54 grand-children, and 46 great-grand-children, all residing 
in California. 

Ebenezer Hull, Jr., 5 (Ebenezer 4) married Ruth Betts, daughter 
of Stephen Betts, and a sister of Mary Betts, who married Daniel Hull 
(5). Ebenezer vv^as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and as a result 
of the hardships and exposure in camp lost his sight, being totally blind. 
He passed his last years with his son Ezra, at Mohawk, N. Y., where he 
died Mar. 23, 1797, and was buried on the banks of the Mohawk River, at 
Westmoreland, now called Mohawk, in Herkimer County, N. Y. His 
children were: Huldah, Sarah, Hannah, and Ezra. 

Ensign John Hull 4 (Cornelius 3), married Abigail ? He went 

with the Provincial troops to Cuba, 1741, and died of yellow fever. He 
sent his musket home to his eldest son, with a request that it should 
descend to the eldest son of each succeeding generation, and it is now 
in the possession of Myron A. Hull, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Children : Tim- 
othy, James, John, Jr., Anna, Abigail and Esther. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



247 



Timothy Hull 5 (Ensign John 4) married Anna Gray, daughter of 
John Gray. Children : Hannah, married Samuel Mallory ; Sarah, mar- 
ried John Fairchild; Ezra; Eunice, married George Perry; John or 
Jonatlian, Abraham, David, Samuel, Hezekiah ; Anna, married Lemuel 
Burr; and Abigail, who married Timothy Perry. 

Ezra Hull 6 (Timothy 5) married Elizabeth Coley, and second, widow 
Mary (Banks) Bradley, daughter of Gershom Banks. Children: Eu- 
nice, married Hiram Jackson ; Laura, married John Eckert ; Polly, Ezra, 
Jr., Charles, and Aaron B. 

Aaron B. Hull 7 (Ezra 6), born August 27, 1817, married, June 23, 
1850, Anna Maria Darling, of Easton. She died leaving two sons: My- 
ron A., and Arthur B., and he married second, Sarah S. Godfrey. He 
was the freight agent of the Danbury and Norwalk R. R. at Danbury, 
and employed all his leisure time collecting material for a history of the 
Hull family. He was a frequent contributor to the Danbury papers on 
historical subjects, and contributed the Hull history in Hurd's history of 
Fairfield, also Schenck's, and the Hull genealogy in Todd's History of 
Redding, edition of 1880. He died March 8, 1884; all his records ap- 
pear to have been lost. Inquiry has been made among his associates in 
the office at Danbury, but no trace of them has been found. It is earn- 
estly hoped that the search for these valuable historical papers will be 
continued, 

Myron A. Hull 8 (Aaron B. 7) married Mary C. West. He is Sec- 
retary of Wm. E. Uptegrove & Co., lumber dealers, New York City. Chil- 
dren: Arthur, Robert, Royal C. and Madeline. Resides in Brooklyn, 
N. Y.. 

John Hull 6 (Timothy 5) married Sarah Fairchild. Children: Aaron. 
Polly, Ezekiel, Hezekiah, and Abraham. 

David Hull 6 (Timothy 5) married Chloe Lee. Children: Daniel, 
Harry and Lucy. 

Samuel 6 (Timothy 5) married Anna Wakeman. One daughter, 
Eliza, married Horace Staples, president of the Westport National Bank. 

Hezekiah 6 (Timothy 5) married Hannah Goodsell. 

Anna 6, married Lemuel Burr. 

Abigail 6, married Timothy Perry. 

John Hull, Jr. 5 (Ensign Jo'hn 4) married Mary Andrews. Children: 
Eleanor and Mollie. 

CorneHus Hull, Jr. 4 (Cornehus, Jr. 3), born May 14, 1710; married 
Aug. 24, 1731, Abigail Rumsey, daughter of Robert Rimisey. Children: 
Jedediah ; Eunice, married Seth Bradley ; Grace, married William Hill : 
Eliphalet, Abigail ; Sarah, who married David Allen, Jr., and Rouhamah. 

Jedediah 5 (Cornelius, Jr. 4) married Mary Chapman, daughter of 
Rev. Daniel Chapman, of Green's Farms. She died 1774, leaving five 



248 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



children : Denne}'- ; Eunice, who married Seth Lee, and second, EHpha- 
let Brush; Chapman; Mary C, who married Bradley Hull 6 (Silas 5), 
and Cornelius, Jr. Jedediah married, second, Mary Osborne. One 
child, Jedediah, Jr. 

Jedediah Hull 5, was appointed Lieut, of the 9th Co. 4th Regiment 
at Fort George, Oct., 1756, and Lieut, of the 7th Co. Second Conn. Regi- 
ment, March, 1758. He was at Ticonderoga, and Crown Point, and 
stood beside Montgomery when he fell at Quebec, 1775. 

Denny LIull 6 (Lieut. Jedediah 5) married Mary Piatt, daughter of 
Obadiah and Thankful (Scudder) Piatt. Children: Mary C, married 
Sturges Selleck; Denny, Jr., Isaac P., and Eunice. 

Danny, Jr. 7 (Denny 6) married Ann Selleck. Children: Jarvis P., 
Edward S., Isaac P., Clarissa Ann (married James L. Burr), Nathaniel 
S., Mary J., Denny, Jr., and Josephine, who married Benjamin F. Ryder. 
Jarvis P. Hull 8 (Denny, Jr. 7) married Eliza Stevens, and second, 
Rachel Stevens, sister of first wife. Children: Henrietta G., married 
Reuben Pierce, of Danbury ; Ann A., Ella V. and Sarah E., all residents 
of Danbury, Conn. Edward S. 8 (Denny, Jr. 7) married Chloe K. Am- 
bler. Two children: Ann EUzabeth, who married Henry C. Ryder, of 
the Danbury Savings Bank, and James Henry. Isaac P. 8 (Denny, Jq 
7), married Henrietta Gibbs, and second, Judith Fleetwood. Children; 

? son, died in infancy ; Edwin P., Anna D., Esther E., and Mary LJ 

Nathaniel S. Hull 8 (Denny, Jr., 7) married Ang^Hne Barber. Chi'I-^ 
dren : Azor B., William F., and Denny. 

Denny, Jr., 8 (Denny, Jr., 7) married Annie M. Raynor. Children; 
Adeline R. and John D. 

Chapman Hull 6 (Lieut. Jedediah 5), baptized May 26, 1765 ; marrie 
Esther Bulkeley. Children: Morris, Henry C, and George. 

Morris 7 (Chapman 6) married Betsey Sally Hull, a twin daughtef 
of Nehemiah Hull, of Redding, born Dec. 7, 1792. Children: Harrie^ 
N., Frederick, Charles, George, and Morris, Jr. 

Harriet N. Hull 8 (Morris 7) married Benedict Crofut. Children: 
Pauline A., William A., Frederick H., Fidelia B., Elizabeth M., Emma 
M., and Charles B. 

William A. Crofut 9 (Harriet N. Hull-Crofut 8), born in Redding,. 
Conn., 1836; Ph. D. of Union College. Served in the famous first Minne- 
sota Regiment in the Civil War. Married Margaret Marshal, and sec- 
ond Bessie Nichols. Traveilled extensively abroad, as oorresponden/t for 
many leading papers ; served on the stafif of the N. Y. Tribune ; editor of 
the Minneapolis Tribune, Rochester Democrat, New Haven Palladium, 
and Washington Post. Author of "History of Connecticut during the 
Rebellion," "Helping Hand for American Homes," "Bourbon Balilads," 
"Deseret, or A Saint's Affliction," "A Midsummer Lark," "The Vander- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



249 



hilts and the Story of their Fortune," '"The Prophecy, and other Poems, ' 
"The Lord's Day or iVIan's?" Residence, Washington, D. C. 

Charles Hull 8 (Morris 7) married Hannah E. Ambler. Children: 
Harriet, died in infancy; Harriet, the second, married Alexander McNie, 
Winona, Minnesota; Mary E., married Granville W. Hoyt, of Danbuiy, 
Conn.; Frederick A.; Thomas A., married Agnes Scott; and Sarah M. 

Frederick A. Hull 9 (Charles 8) married Mary Clark, Danbury, 
Conn. Children: Winona M., married Dr. H. R. Armstrong, N. Y. 
City; Charles, Clark, and Milton. 

George Hull 7 (Chapman 6) married Clara Nichols, daughter of 
Gould Nichols. Children: Mary P., married Bradley Hubbell Hull 7 
(Bradley 6) ; Sarah E., Andrew, Caroline A., and Georgiana. 

Andrew Hull 8 (George 7) married Kate Schoonmaker. Children: 
Clara N., married James W. Porter, and Flora S., married William H. 
Leonard. 

Georgiana 8 (George 7) married Milo H. Parsons. Children: Flor- 
ence H. Parsons ; Fred H. Parsons, married Lulu H. DeBell, Stamford, 
Conn. ; George M. ; Harold A. Parsons, married Mary E. Paxson, Stam- 
ford, Conn. ; Marion B. ; Waldo H. Parsons, who was a soldier in the 
Spanish-Am. War, Co. I, 3rd Conn. Regt. 

Cornelius Hull 6 (Lieut. Jedediah 5) married Mary Piatt. Children: 
Mary C, Isaac P. and Maria. 

Mary C. Hull 7 (Cornelius 6) married Eliphalet Banks, and second 
Willis Nichols. Children by first 'husband : Sarali Banks, married Stephen 
Morehouse ; Mary C. Banks, married Daniel A. Meeker. Child by sec- 
ond husband, Harriet L. B. Nichols, who married J. Sherwood Wakeman. 
She is the owner, and resides in the colonial house built by ber great 
grandfather, Lieut. Jedediah Hull, at Southport. 

Jedediab, Jr. 6 (Lieut. Jedediab 5 and second wife, Mary Osborne) 
married Eleanor Price. Children : Jedediah Bradley, David, Mary C, 
Hiram, Bradley, Eunice and Catherine. 

Jedediah Bradley Hull 7 (Jedediah, Jr., 6) married Mary E. Mallory. 
Children: William H., Jameson C, Martha A., Mary A., Carrie S., and 
Susan E. 

Jameson C. Hull 8 (Jedediah Bradley 7) married Maria L. C. Harris, 
daughter of George W. and Mary M. (Griffiths) Harris, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
He was appointed Assistant Engineer U. S. Navy ; resigned 1858. At 
the fall of Fort Sumter, 1861, he offered his services to the Secretary of 
the Navy, was reinstated with bis former rank, and took such a promi- 
nent part under Admiral Farragut on the Mississippi below New Orleans, 
that he was promoted to First Assistant Engineer. He was transferred 
to the Onondag-a and was in active service on the James River 1863 to 
1865 ; resigned 1866. 



250 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Martha A. 8 (Jedediah 7) married Thomas B. Johnson. 

Carrie S. 8 (Jedediah 7) married Albert H. Dakin. 'Children: 
Al'bert H. Dakin, Jr., Civil Engineer, New York City ; Adelaide Dakin, 
Carrie, Edwin and Belle. 

Dr. Elipbalet Hull 5 (Cornelius, Jr., 4), born 1738, graduiaJted from 
Yale 1758; married Charity Burr. He was a Surgeon in the Revolu- 
tionary War ; died 1799. Children : Dr. William Burr Hull, Charity 
who married Samuel B. Sherwood, Abigail, Sarah who married Abraham 
Andrews, Deborah who married Jesse Brush and after the death of her 
sister Charity married second Samuel B. Sherwood, and Mary Burr Hull, 
wtho married Orrin Day, of Catskill, N. Y. 

Dr. William Burr Hull 6 (Dr. Eliphalet 5) married ? Chil- 
dren: Alson H. and Eliphale>t Burr Hull. 

Alson H. Hull 7 (Dr. William Burr 6) married Mary Banks. Chil- 
dren : Mary B., Albert B., Andrew L., and Julia, who married Joel Banks. 

Albert B. 8 (Alson H. 7) married ? Children: Albert B., Jr. 

and Amelia C, who married G. H. Knapp. 

William H. 9 (Albert B. 8) married ? Children: Sophia, 

Harold, and Allison. 

Eliphalet Burr Hull 7 (Dr. William Burr 6) married HannaJh E. 
Holmes. Children : V\/'ilHam Burr, John H., and Henry E. 

William Burr Hull 8 (Eliph'ale't Burr 7) married Charlotte H. Fam- 
ham. Children : Edgar and Arthur Burr Hull. 

John H. Hull 8 (Eliphalet Burr 7) married Charlotte A. Taylor. 
They own and reside in the colonial house mentioned in the "Story of 
Hull's Farms." Children: Inez H., Charlotte M., Edward T., Harriet 
E., and Henry M. 

Theophilus Hull 3 (Cornelius 2, George i) married Mary Sanford, 
sister of Sarah, wife of his brother Cornelius, Jr., 3. In May, 1705, 
Theophilus Hull was appointed Ensign of the company at the west end 
of Fairfield. He was appointed Deputy for Fairfield, May, 1708; Lieu- 
tenant of West Co. of Fairfield, June, 1709, and Captain the same year. 
At the same General Court he was appointed on a committee for Fair- 
field County, with Deputy Governor Gold, Joseph Curtis, Major Peter 
Burr and Captain Joseph Wakeman. He is named in the will of his 
father as receiving a slhare ''of his meadow land in ye fields," also another 
portion of the estate, and was named as one of the executors of the will. 
The will of Theophilus Hull, proved August 2, 1710, names his wife 
Mary, daughters Mary and Ann, and four sons, Theophilus, Jr., Eliphalet, 
John, and Jabesh. 

Ann Hull 4 (Theophilus 3), baptized Aug. 26, 1694; married Zach- 
ariah Sanford. 

Theophilus, Jr., 4 (Theophilus 3), baptized May 22,, i6gy; married 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



251 



sarah ? 'Theophilus Hull and wife Sarali renewed their cove- 

lant, Feb. 21, 1720." (Fairfield Church Records.) "There were ad- 

litted to members'hip from Green's Farms Theophilus Hull and wife 

>arah, May 18, 1726." (Greenfield Hill Parish Records.)' They moved 

^■0 Redding prior to 1729, as he and his wife were among 'the original 

lembers of the First Ghuroh of Christ in Redding, and he was elected 

)eacon, 1733. His will dated June 7, 1748, proved October 31, 1748, 

lames : wife Sarah, son Theophilus, and daughter Lydaa, wife of Samuel 

ISmitfi. His widow Sarah, son Theophilus, and brotlier-in-law Samuel 

fSherwiood, were joint executors. 

Theophilus, Jr., 5 (Theophilus, Jr., 4), born February 21, 1725; mar- 
Iried, January 25, 1759, Widow Martha Betts, at Redding. His will, 
dated December i, proved 19, 1785, names son Zalmon and daughters 
Sarah and Lydia Hull. In the oldest cemetery in Redding, Conn., on a 
stone a few yards southwest of the Congregational Church, -the following 
inscriptions are placed : 

"In memory of Mr. Theophilus Hull, 
who departed this life, Dec. 5, 1785, 
In the 60th year of his age." 

"In memory of Mrs. Martha Hull, 
who departed this life, Apr. 10, 1785, 
In the 52nd year of her age." 

Zalmon Hull 6 (Theopihilus, Jr., 5), baptized May 13, 1759; married, 
March 4, 1784, Eunice Belden. Children: Sarah, Theophilus B., Heze- 
kialh, Lydia, and Henry. 

Theophilus B. Hull 7 (Zalmon 6), born 1785; married, October 16, 
1810, Sally Betsey Hull, twin daughter of Nehemiah and SaraTi (Jack- 
son) Hull, of Redding, Conn. A stone in the cemetery before referred 
to bears the following inscriptions: 

"In memiory of Mr. Theophilus B. Hull, who died 
April 17, 1830, aged 44 yrs. 5 m. 12 days. 
The Son of Man comieth in an hour when ye fhink not." 

"In memory of Sally, wife of Theophilus B. Hull, who died 
Feb. 22, 1834, aged 41 years, 2 m. 16 days. Beloved are the 
dead, w'ho die in the Lord." 

Elip'halet Hull 4 (Theophilus 3) married Sarah Barlow, daughter of 
John Barlow. His will, dated March 9, and proved March 22, 1736-7, 
names wife, Sarah, daughters Miriam, Sarah, Ruth, and Mary, to each 
of whom he gave iioo, to his eldest son Seth, his gun and £20, the rest 
of his estate to his sons Seth, John, and Daniel equally. His wife Sarah, 
John Barlow and Joseph Wakeman were named Executors, with power 



252 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



to sell his lands in New Fairfield. 'Aliriam 5 (Eliphale't 4) married Jabez 
Gorham. Sarah 5 (Eliphalet 4) maried Ebenezer Bradley. Seth Hull 5 
(Eliphalet 4), born 1728-9, married Hannah Rumsey. They moved to 
New York State and settled near Saratoga. Some of the famous springs 
were on his farm. Two of his sons, Eliphalet and Seth, Jr., took an im- 
portant part in the Revolutionary War, after which they moved to Yates 
County, N. Y. Some of their descendants are Mrs. Emma (Buel) Lee, 
and her sister. Miss Buel, of Benton Center, N. Y. ; Will Buel Hull, 
Buffalo, N. Y. ; Cyrus E. Hull, of the Railway Mail Service, Cincinnati, 
Ohio; Mrs. Erastus Hull, Avon, Michigan, and Theodore B. Hull, of t 
Tudor, Sutter County, CaUfornia, who owns a large ranch near Marys- 
ville, California, on which he raises large quantities of fruit. Another 
descendant is Cyrus Sherwood Bradley, of Southport, author of the ; 
"Story of Hull's Farms." 

John Hull 5 (Eliphalet 4), born April 2, 1704, married Elizabeth 
Adams. He was a lawyer and settled at Newton. Children : Ebenezer, 
Elijah, John Jr., Eliphalet, Mary, and perhaps others. Ebenezer 5, born 

Oct. 5, 1729, married ? Children: Abel, Elijah, John, Eliphalet, 

Mary, who married Simeon Shepard. There may have been other chil- 
dren. 

Elijah 6 (John 5) married Rebecca Summers. Children: Ebenezer, 

Elijah, Jr., John; Betty, married Taylor; Lucy; Sarah, married 

Abijah Sherman ; Huldah, married Sanford ; Polly, married 

Tomlinson ; Rhuama, married — — Hays ; Anna, married Sherman ; 

Agnes, married Piatt ; and Rebecca, married Barnum. 

John, Jr. 6 (John 5) married Sarah Hepburn. One daughter, Phebe, 
married George Shepard, son of Lieut. Timothy Shepard. 

Eliphalet 6 (John 5), born Jan. i, 1737-8. Oct. 30, 1765, married 
Rebecca Baldwin, daughter of James and Lydia Baldwin, of Newton. 
Children: Anna, who married Allan Shepard. One of her grandsons 
is W. Farrand Felch {"Noel Little"), who was the editor of the Genea- 
logical Department of the Hartford Tunes for a number of years, and is 
now located at Petal uma, California. The other children of Eliphalet 6, 
were ; Abiah, married Samuel A. Judson ; Lydia, married Alanson North- 
rup, and second, Captain Botsford ; Esther ; Betty, married David Booth ; 
and Rebecca, married Shepard, 

Daniel Hull 5 (Eliphalet 4) married Betty Beardsley. Children: 
Daniel, Jr., Hezekiah, Banks, and seven daughters, Molly, Sarah, Han- 
nah, Betsey, Abigail, Rachel, and Deborah. 

JACKSON. 

Ephraim Jackson and his wife Martha removed to Redding from 
Green's Farm, Fairfield, in 1748, and were admilifed church-miembers the 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



253 



ame year. He died April 2Sth, 1765, aged sixty-five years. The chil- 
rcn of his son, Ephraim Jackson, were as follows: Aaron, baptized No- 
ciiiber I2tli, 1767; Mollie, baptized July 23d, 1769; Peter, September 
;th, 1771 ; Hezekiah, February 27th, 1774. David Jackson appears in 
vedding as early as 1763 ; was probably son of Ephraim ; married No- 
/ember i8th, 1762, Anna Sanford. Their children were: Ezekiel, bap- 
ized October 23d, 1763; David, February 2d, 1766; Anna, September 
?,oth, 1770, died in infancy; Anna, September 14'th, 1772; and by a sec- 
ond wife, Esther, Moses, baptized December nth, 1774; perhaps others, 
fizekiel, son of David, married Hannah Grey, April 30th, 1786 (Town 
[Record.) Their children were : Anna, born December 21st, 1786 ; Hiram, 
born April 22d, 1788; Samuel, born December 29th, 1789; Clarissa, born 
.December 25th, 1792; Laura, bom February 28th, 1794; Harriet, born 
December i8th, 1795. Harriet married Gideon H. Hoillister, of Wood- 
bury, and became the mother of Judge Gideoii H. Hollister, the historian 
of Connecticut. 

LEE. 

William Lee and wife were admi'tted church members May 23d, 1742. 
Their children recorded were: Daniel, baptized January 8th, 1744; Abi- 
jah, baptized September 21st, 1745; Abigail, baptized May 5th, 1748; 
William, baptized April 5th, 1753 ; Seth, baptized March 23d, 1755. 

Joseph Lee and wife admitted May 8tlh, 1737. Their daughter Mary 
was baptized May 8th, 1743. 

LYON. 

Among 'the original members of the church at its organization in 1733 
appear the name of Daniel Lion and v/ife, of Benjamin Lion and wife — 
recommended by Rev. Mr. Gay — ^and Richard Lion and wife. All settled 
in the southeastern part of the town, near what is now the Easton line. 
The record of their families is as follows : Children of Daniel were : 
Jonathan, baptized April 12th, 1741. Children of Benjamin were: Bethd, 
baptized May 29th, 1733; Joihn, baptized August 22d, 1736; Samuel, bap- 
tized August 20th, 1738 ; Phebe, baptized February 24th, 1740. Ridiard 
Lion died in January, 1740, aged eighty-seven years. 

Captain Eli Lyon, a descendant of Richard Lion above named, lived 
in the old Lyon homestead on Redding Ridge on the site of the present 
home of Jesse Sanford. He married Betty Hill, daug*hter of Abel Hill, 
Esq., a prominent rrian of the town, and died July 11, 1811, aged 78 
years. His wife died February 19, 1808, aged 73 years. They had four 
children : Camilla, b. Jan. 23, 1803, m. Samuel B. Read, rem. to Ypsilanti, 
Mich., and died there in 1854; Hannah, b. Jan. 5, 1807, m. Daniel Lyon, 
and died at Ypsilanti, June 9, 1871 ; Elizabeth, b. Mc*h. 31, 1809, and 
after the death of her sister Camilla, married Samuel B. Read, and died 



254 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



in Ypsilanti in 1901, aged 92 years ; Eli, b. June 9, 181 1, in the old homefl 
stead at Redding, and lived there until 1856, when he rem'Oved to Ypsiij 
lanti, Mich., where many Redding people went at that time. He raanl 
ried Mary Hamlin, of Newtown, Conn., who died after two years, leavii^l 
a son, Frederick H., who died in 187 1 of consumption, aJt Ypsilantiil 
Captain Eli Lyon married second, November 17, 1834, Louis'a Augustal 
Winton, daughter of Col. James Winton, of Bridgeport, Conn., w^ho bowl 
him eleven diildren, eight in Redding and three after their removal tcf 
Michigan. She died in Decatur, Mich., in 1888, and he died Dece 
9, 1890, at the home of his son, R. H. Lyon, in South Bend, Ind. Thdl 
children were: (i) Mary Frances, (2) Uri Sedey, (3) Elizabeth Hait^ 
naih, (4) Richard Hill, (5) Alice Louisa, (6) William Smith, (7) George 
Winton, (8) Annie Estelle, (9) Thomas Brownell, (10) Bessie Porter^ 
and one son died in infancy. 

Richard Hill (4) went witih his parents to Ypsilanti and grew up, 
with the country ; was educated at the public schools and *tihe seminary 
at Ypsilanti and High Sdhool at Decatur; learned the printer's tradce 
Of musical talent, he entered the piano trade and followed i't a few years^ 
then entered the office of the South Bend Tribune, a leading newspaper: 
of Indiana, and rose to be editor. He married, Aug. 15, 1876, Francesi 
Odell Kurtz, and they have since resided in South Bend, Ind.* 

LORD. 

David Lord was admitted church-member in 1744, recommended byji 
Rev. Mr. Parsons, of Lyme. Hi^ children were: David, baptized Julyy 
8th, 1744; Elizabeth, baptized March 5th, 1749; perhaps others. 

MALLORY. 

Jonathan Mallory and wife were admitted church-members December: 
22d, 1735, on recommendation of Rev. Mr. Chapman. She w^as Eliza- 
beth Adams. They were married April loth, 1735. Their children 1 
were: Jonathan, baptized January nth, 1736; Eliza, baptized December 
17th, 1738; perhaps others. Peter Mallory married Joanna Hall Febru- 
ary 28th, 1737. Children: Rebecca, baptized February 5th, 1738, died 
in infancy; Rebecca, baptized January 13th, 1739; Ebenezer Mallory and 
Hannah Keys were married February 6th, 1744. No children found. 
Daniel Mallory and Sarah Lee were married November 30th, 1748. 
Their children were: Daniel, baptized October 25th, 1750; Nathan, Au- 
gust 25th, 1754; Abigail, April 24th, 1757; Sarah, May 15th, 1763; Jo- 
seph, baptized February 12th, 1767; Eunice, daughter of Daniel Mallory, 
Jr., and his wife Rachel, was baptized September 5th, 1779. Samuel and 
Charles Mallory were born April 6th, 1780. The names of the parents 

*For a sketch of Mr. Lyon, see Chapter xix. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



255 



are not given. Charles Mallory was the father of Stephen Mallory, 
United States Senator from Florida, and later Secretary of the Con- 
federate Navy. 

MEADE. 

Stephen Meade, the first of the name in Redding, appears as early 
as 1755- He married Rachel Sanford, daughter of Ephraim Sanford. 
Their children were : Jeremiah, born March 22d, 1752 ; Ezra, baptized 
January 19th, 1755; Hannah, baptized May 9th, 1756; Esther, baptized 
August 17th, 1760; Thaddeus, baptized October 25th, 1761 ; Stephen, 
baptized January 24fch, 1768. Stephen Meade is called lieutenant and 
captain in the records. He was a man quite prominent in town affairs ; 
was elected the first clerk of the town at its organization in 1767, and 
held other important offices. He lived in the Centre, on the si'te of the 
present residence of Squire Brotheston. 

MEEKER. 

Benjamin Meeker and wife were admitted church-members June 4th, 
1747. She was Catherine Burr. They were married July 20th, 1745. 
Their children were: Witely, baptized June 7th, 1747; Esther and Eu- 
nice, baptized August 13th, 1755; Azariah, baptized February 5th, 1769; 
Daniel Meeker married Sarah Johnson, July loth, 1744. Their children 
were: Elnathan, baptized July 26th, 1747; Jared, baptized January 29th, 
1749; Rebecca, baptized January 20th, 1751; Lois, baptized March 28th, 
1753 ; Josiah, baptized July 17th, 1757. 

About the same time appear David Meeker and Robert Meeker. The 
former married Hannah Hill, October 31st, 1744. The latter Rebecca 
Morehouse, September 19th, 1746. I find no record of children. Joseph 
Meeker appears as early as May 4th, 1735, when his son Isaac was bap- 
tized. 

MERCHANT. 

Gurdon Merchant married Elinor Ohauncey (probably of Fairfield) 
December 9th, 1747. Their children were: Amelia, baptized February 
5th, 1749; Chauncey, February 25th, 1753; John, baptized August 31st, 
1755; Elinor, January 8th, 1758; Gurdon, March i6th, 1760; Joel, June 
6th, 1762; Phebe, May 20th, 1764; Silas, May 8th, 1766. Gurdon Mer- 
chant was the first town treasurer, and held other offices of trust. The 
family figures quite prominently in the later history of the town. 



256 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



MOREHOUSE.* 

Thomas More'house, the immi^ant ancestor, was in Wethersfield^ 
Conn., as early as 1640. In 1641 he removed to Stamford and was one 
of the original twenty-nine white settlers of that town who purchased it 
of the New Haven Colony, who had previously bought it of the Indians 
for 100 bushels of corn. (New Haven Colonial Record.) 

In 1653, he removed to Fairfield and died there in 1658, leaving a 
widow, Isabel (probably a second wife) -and children: i, Hannah; 2, 
Samuel ; 3, Thomas ; 4, Mary ; 5, Jonathan, and 6, Jdhn. He and his son 
Samuel were made freemen by the General Court, October, 1664. 

Samuel (2), born as early as 1637, died 1687, in Fairfield, and was 
buried in the old cemetery there. He married Rebecca, daughter of Wil- 
liam and Rebecca Odell. He was a surveyor, Lieut, of the military com- 
pany, and the first marshal or sheriff of Fairfield County. His children 
were: i, Samuel; 2, Thomas; 3, John; 4, Daniel, 5, James; 6, Rebecca; 
7, EHzabeth; 8, Hannah; 9, Mary, and 10, Ann. 

John (3), son of Samuel (2), married Ruth, dlaughiter of John Bar- 
low, Jr., and Abigail (LockwOod) Barlow, and died in Fairfield, 1727. 
Children: James (4), Ruth (4), Stephen (4), Gurshom (4), Elizabeth 
(4), died in infancy; Elizabeth (4), James (4), Abijah (4), John, Jr. 
(4), Ephraim (4), Ann (4), and James (4). 

By will of John Morehouse, proved March 28, 1727, it appears that 
Stephen Morehouse above had then settled in Chestnut Ridge (now Red- 
ding). Later, his brother, "Gershom Morehouse and wife," were ad- 
mitted to the church in Redding (May 8, 1737) on recommendation of 
Rev. Mr. Hobart, of Fairfield. 

Stephen (4), mentioned above, settled in Redding, probably on 
Couch's Hill, and is said to have been the founder of the Episcopal parish 
in that town. He died May 2, 1767, "in ye 66bh year of his age," and 
was bnried in the Episcopal churchyard on Redding Ridge,, where his 
tombstone may still be seen. He married, March 21, 1722, Abigail, 
daughter of John and Abigail (Minor) Tredwell, who died Sept. 6, 
1759. aged 56 years. Their children were: Joseph (5), Daniel (5), 
Elizabeth (5), Abigail (5), Stephen, Jr. (5), Ann (5), John (5), Abel 
(5). All of these children settled out of Redding, in New Milford, New 
Preston, and Washington, Conn., and in Amenia, N. Y. There have 
been three other Episcopal parishes founded in Litchfield County by the 
descendants of Stephen (4). 

*The name was originally spelled Moorhouse. 
In Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History, occurs this entry: Nicholas 
Blundell, in the reign of Edward HI. in the 6th year (1333) granted to Henry 
de Moorhouse and Margery his wife, a parcel of land in Little Crosby, lying near 
the Moorhouse's called "Crosby Meadow." The spelling of the name Moorhouse as 
above is quite common even now. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



257 



Gershom (4) Morehouse, mentioned above, married Sarah, daughter 

John Hill, Apr. 22, 1725. Children: Gershom, Jr. (5), born Nov. 

, 1727; Elizabeth (5), born Jan. 3, 1730; Ruth (5), born Dec. 23, 

T^-j^. Gershom, Jr. (5), married Anna Sanford, January 18, 1748. He 

'as a captain in the Revolutionary army and commanded a company at 

le battle of White Plains. His son-in-law was a captain in the British 

Lrmy, and after the battle they met under a flag of truce to confer on 

amily matters. His children were: Ezra (6), Billy (6), Aaron (6), 

ane (6), Anna (6), Hill (6), Lucy (6), Betty (6), Elizabeth (6), Ruth 

6), Polly (6), and Tabit'ha (6). Gershom, Jr., died in Redding, Jan. 

I 2, 1805, aged yy years. 

Aaron (6), son of Gershom, Jr. (5), entered the Revolutionary army r7<r~^ 
.8 a fifer at the age of sixteen. Was in the battles of Flatbush, Red ^ 
;3ook, and others, and aided in covering the retreat of the patriots from 
Slew York after the battle of Long Island. After the war he settled in 
L^edding Centre and cultivated a large farm there, and for thirty years 
A^as a Deputy Sheriff of Fairfield County. He died in Redding, Dec. 3, 
1833, and is buried in the Episcopal cemetery on Redding Ridge. He 

married Urana, daughter of John Starr, and had children: Starr Hill 

[(7), Flora (7), Betsey (7), Anna (7), William (7), Almira (7), Charles 
(7), Amelia (7), and George (7). 

i Charles (7), born Dec. 13, 1802, married Fidelia Starr, daug*hter of 
iEdward Starr, and second, Anna, daughter of Daniel Morehouse, and 
settled in New Haven, Conn. His children by his first wife were : 
Julia (8), died in infancy; Cornelius Starr (8), and Fidelia Starr (8). 
i Cornelius Starr (8), has been, since 1859, a member of the well known 
book printing house of Tuttle, More'house & Taylor, of New Haven. He 
married, Dec. i, 1852, Eliza Kimberley, daughter of William Kimberley 
and Ruth Ann Nichols, grand-daughter of Eli and Sarah (Lyon) Nich- 
ols, of Redding. Eliza Kimberley died Jan. 8th, 1899. Their only child, 
Mary Louise (9), Vv'as born July 19, 1856, and was married. May 4, 1880, 
to the Rev. Edwin Stevens Lines, for twenty-five years Rector of St. 
Paul's Episcopal Church, New Haven, Conn., and now Bishop of the 
Diocese of Newark, N. J. Their children were: Edwin Morehouse 
(10), Henry Starr (10), Margaret Kimberley (10), who died in in- 
fancy, and Harold Stevens (10).* 

It is probable that the Jonathan Morehouse who was admitted to the 
church in Redding from Fairfield, July 5, 1741, was identical with the 
Jonathan, Jr., son of Jonathan, Sr., the son of Thomas, Jr., the son of 

♦From Ancestry and Descendants of Gershom Morehouse, Jr., by Nelson D. 
Adams, 732 7th St. N. E., Washington, D. C, and others. Members of the family 
are invited to communicate with Mr. Adams, who is compiling a genealogy of the 
Morehouse family. 



25^ 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Thomas (i). His children were: Joanna and Mary, bapt. Apr. 13, 1738; 
Hannah, bapt. June 3d, 1739; EHjah, bapt. Mch. 11, 1742; Phebe, bapt. 
May 27th, 1744; Ruth, bapt. June 14, 1747. 

PERRY. 

Ebenezer Perry removed to Redding, probably from Stratford, in 
1735, in which year he was admitted church-member. His children were: 
John, baptized May loth, 1741 ; Ebenezer, June 12th, 1743 ; probably 
others. 

Daniel Perry, son of Joseph Perry and Deborah Burr, of Fairfield,: 
removed to Redding about 1770, and settled in the south-western part of) 
the town. He married, first, Mary, daughter of Peter Sturgis, of Fair-r 
field, and second, Sarah Wilson. His children, all by the second wife,( 
were: Grissei, born February loth, 1745-6; Daniel, born April 15th,' 
1747; Jdhn, born December 30th, 1748; Deborah, born October 8th,! 
1750; George, born November 26th, 1752; Isaac, born November 3d,] 
1754; Thomas, born February 21st, 1757. Of the sons, two at least,! 
Daniel and John, settled in Redding. Daniel married, February 19th. 
1772, Elizabeth Gorham, of Greenfield. His children were: Timothy, 
baptized January loth, 1773; Isaac, baptized August 23d, 1778; perhaps 
others. 

PLATT. 

Richard Piatt, first of the name in America, supposed to be the one 
l)apt. Sept. 28, 1603, in Parish of Boringdon, near Hertford, England, 
came to America, 1638, and settled in New Haven. The next year, 1639, 
he, with sixty-five others, founded the town of Milford, Conn., where he 
was deacon and a prominent citizen. His wife, Mary, died in Milford, 
January, 1676. His children were: Mary, John, Isaac, and Sarah (all 
probably born in England and bapt. in Milford), Epinetus, Hannah, 
Josiah, and Joseph. Richard Piatt died 1684, and left an estate of about 
£600. 

His third child, Isaac, settled in Huntington, L. I., and married there, 
Elizabdth Wood. He was ancestor of Senator Thomas C. Piatt of New^ 
York. This Isaac had a son Jonas, who had a son Obadiah, who married 
Mary Smith, Aug. 10, 1722,* and had eight children, one of whom, Jonas 
Piatt, born Oct. 9, 1727, settled in Redding, Conn., having, with his wife,' 
been admitted to church -membership there, Feb. 5, 1749. He married; 
Oct. 17, 1747, Elizabeth, daughter of Ephraim Sanford, of Redding. 
Their children were (as recorded in Redding) : John, bapt. Feb. 5th, 

*Perhaps identical with the Obadia:h Piatt who appears in Redding as early) 
as 1737, and had two children baptized there, viz. Mary, bapt. Feb. 20, 1737, andc 
Elizabeth, bapt. May isth, 1739. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 2^9 

752; Daniel, bapt. Aug. nth, 1754, and Eunice, bapt. May 30, 1756. 
bnas Piatt, in middle life, removed to New York State. His son John 
eturned to Connecticut and settled in the town of Washington ; married 
ilizabeth Parmalee, July 7, 1775, and had, among others, Daniel Gould 
|?laitt, born July 25, 1797. He married Almyra Hitchcock, Jan. 3, 1817, 
Ind had, among others, Orville Hitchock, born July 19, 1827, a Senator 
pf the United States. Senator Piatt married Ann Bull, of Towanda, 
jpa., May 15, 1850, and had children: James Perry, now Judge of the 
United States District Court of the District of Connecticut, and Daniel 
jG^ould, who died in boyhood.* (Condensed from the Piatt genealogy.) 
I Timothy Piatt was admitted a church-member May loth, 1741, on 
recommendation of Rev. Mr. Chapman. But one child is found — Abi- 
f^ail, baptized April 8th, 1736; married Nathaniel Hill, May 28th, 1754. 
[He was probably father of the Timothy Piatt who married the sister of 
John R. Hill, and settled in Lonetown, on the farm now owned by Henry 
iAdams. Timothy Piatt died December 5th, 1769, aged sixty-two years. 
rrhe children of Obadiah Piatt were: Mary, baptized February 20th, 
1737; Elizabeth, May 15th, 1739. 

Hezekiah Piatt appears in Redding as early as April 4th, 1762, when 
his son Justus was baptized. His other children recorded were: Heze- 
kiah, January i6th, 1764; William, May, i8th, 1766; Griswold, December 
1st, 1767; Robert, September ist, 1771. 

READ. 

Mr. John Read, perhaps the earliest settler of Redding, was one of 
the most eminent men of his day. He was born in Connecticut in 1680, 
graduated from Harvard College in 1697, studied for the ministry, and 
preached for some time at Waterbury, Hartford, and Stratford. He af- 
terward studied law, and was admitted an attorney at the bar in 1708, and 
in 1712 was appointed Queen's attorney for the colony. In 1714 he 
bought of the Indians a large tract of land in Lonetown and settled there. 
He continued to reside in Redding until 1722, when be removed to Bos- 
ton, and soon became known as the most eminent lawyer in the colonies. 
He was Attorney-General of Massachusetts for several years, and also 
a member of the Governor and Council. He died in February, 1749, 
leaving a large estate. His wife was Ruth Talcott, daughter of Lieut'jn- 
ant-Colonel John Talcott, of Hartford, and sister of Governor Jo»eph 
Talcott. They had six children: Ruth, born (probably) in Hartfcrd in 
1700; died in Redding, August 8th, 1766. She was the wife of Rev. 
Nathaniel Hunn, first pastor of the church in Redding. They were mar- 
ried September 14th, 1737. John, born in Hartford in 1701 ; lived in 



*For a sketch of Senator Piatt, see Chapter xix. 



26o HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Redding at the "Lonetown Manor," and was a leading man in his day 
in the colony ; was much in public life, both civil and military, and was 
noted for his public spirit, patriotism, and piety. He marriel twice. 

His first wife was Mary , a Milford lady. His second wife was 

Sarah Bradley, of Greenfield Hill. His children were: William, who 
married Sarah Hawley, of Redding ; Zalmon, who married Hulda Brad- 
ley, of Greenfield; Hesekiah, who married Anna Gorham; John, who 
married Zoa Hillard ; Mary, wife of John Harpin ; Sarah, wife of Jabez 
Hill, and afterward of Theodore Monson ; Ruth, wife of Jeremiah Mead ; 
Deborah, wife of Thomas Benedict, a lawyer; Mabel, wife of Levi Starr; 
and Esther, wife of Daniel C. Bartlett, son of Rev. Nathaniel Bartlett;. 
One of his children, a lad of four years, fell into a burning coal-pit in 
1739, and was so badly burned that he survived but a few hours. His 
father wrote a letter to his father in Boston, informing him of the mel- 
ancholy event, and his father sent back a letter in reply. Both of the 
letters are yet preserved, after a period of one hundred and sixty years, 
and are both remarkable for the piety and Christian resignation mani- 
fested in them. William, born in Connecticut about 17 10, was a lawyer 
in Boston, and afterward a judge in several of the courts there. He lived 
a bachelor, and died in 1780, aged seventy years. Mary, born (probably) 
in Reading, Conn., April 14th, 1716; married Captain Charles Morris, 
of Boston, afterv/ard of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he was for many 
years chief-justice of the courts. They had nine sons and two daughters. 
Abigail married Joseph Miller, of Boston. Deborah married a Mr. Will- ' 
stead, and afterward Henry Paget, of Smifhfield, Rhode Island. 

To the above sketch by Mr. George Read, of Boston, I will add that 
Colonel John Read, son of the Mr. John Read mentioned, appears as one 
of the original mem.bers of the first society in 1729, coming from Ridge- 
field, and was the Colonel John Read so often referred to in the town 
records. His "manour" comprised nearly all of what is now Lonetown, 
and his manor-house stood on the exact site of Henry A. Dimon's present ; 
residence. He had a fenced park, in which he kept deer, nearly opposite ' 
the present residence of Mr. John Read. 

The late Mr. George Read, of Redding Centre, had a very interesting 
collection of old papers belonging to the colonel, such as wills, deeds, 
account-books, etc. In one of them directions are given his men about 
feeding the deer, letting the cattle into the long meadow, etc. Another 
is Mr. Read's commission as colonel, and is of sufficient interest to war-- 
rant its insertion here. It is as follows : 

Thomas Fitch, Esq., Governor and Commander in chief of his Majes- 
ty's Colony of Connecticut in New England, 

To John Read Esq., Greeting. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 26 1 

Whereas you are appointed by the General Assembly of said Colony 
to be Colonel of the Fourth Regiment of Horse in said Colony. Repos- 
ing special trust and confidence in your Loyalty, courage, and good con- 
duct, I do by these presents constitute and appoint you to be Colonel of 
said Regiment. You are therefore to take the said Regiment into your 
Care and charge as their Colonel, and carefully and diligently to dis- 
charge that Care and Trust in Ordering and Exercising of them, both 
Officers and Soldiers in Arms according to the Rules and Discipline of 
War, keeping them in good Order and Government, and commanding 
them to obey you as their Colonel for his Majesty's service, and they are 
commanded to obey you accordingly, and you are to conduct and lead 
forth the said Regiment, or such part of them as you shall from time to 
time receive orders for from me, or from the Governor of this Colony 
for the time being, to Encounter, Repel, Pursue, and destroy by force 
of Arms, and by all fitting ways and means, all his Majesty's Enemies 
who shall at any time hereafter in a Hostile manner attempt or enter- 
prise the Invasion, Detriment, or Annoyance of this Colony. And you 
are to observe and obey such Orders and Instructions as from time to 
time you from Me, or other your Superior Oflticers, pursuant to the trust 
hereby Reposed in you and the laws of this Colony. Given under my 
hand and the seal of this Colony, in New Haven, the 3d Day of Novem- 
ber, in the 31st year of the Reign of our Soverign Lord George the Sec- 
ond, King of Great Britain &c. Annoque Dom's, 1757. 

Thos. Fitch. 
By His Honor's Command, 

George Wyllys, Secty. 

Of the children of John Read, 2d, given above, we will trace to 
present tim.es the descendants of but one, Zalmon, the second son, who 
settled in Redding, and was one of the leading spirits of the Revolution 
there. According to the church records he was bapt. July 23, 1738, and 
was therefore, on the opening of the historic struggle, about thirty-seven 
years of age. He married in 1754 (family record), Huldah Bradley, 
of Greenfield Hill, Conn. Their children were, according to the family 
bible: i, Zalmon, bom Apr. 28th, 1759; 2, Huldah, born in 1761, mar- 
ried Laban Smith, had children, and died in Redding aged 25 years; 
3, Samuel, born in 1763; 4, EH, born in April, 1765; 5, Aaron, born 
June 8, T767. Zalmon Read was a captain in the Revolution. (See chap- 
ter Vn.) Ke died and is buried in the Read burying ground, Redding. 

Of the children named above, Zalmon, the eldest son, married, first, 
Huldah Gray of Redding, and second, Hannah Bassett of Birmingham, 
Conn. His children by the first wife were : Aaron, born Apr. 23, 1781 ; 
Harry, born Nov. ii, 1787; Betsey, born Feb. 24, 1792; Clarissa, born 



252 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Apr. 8, 1795; Samuel, born June 9, 1797; Caroline, born Oat. 12, 1802, 
and by the second wife: Frederick, Mary, and Benjamin. (Family Rec- 
ord.) He lived and died in Redding in the old homestead later occupied 
by his daugliter Clarissa and his son Benjamin. He died Oct. 3d, 1846, 
aged 88 years. His wife Huldah died June 27, 1810, aged 49 years, 7 
months. 

Huldah, second child of Zalmon the ist, married Laban Smith, and 
died aged twenty-three years, leaving children. 

Samuel, third child of Zalmon ist, married Rebecca Lockwood, and 
settled In Rahway, N. J., where he died at the age of 63 years, leaving 
children. 

Eli, fourth child, married Mabel Lyon; lived in Redding, where he 
died aged 78 years. 

Aaron, the fifth child, settled in Bedford, N. Y., where he became 
a prominent man, serving for years as magistrate. He married, Dec. 21, 
1790, Sally Fleming, of Bedford. Their children were: i, Frederick F., 
born Feb. 2^, 1792, died Oct. 7th, 1794; 2, a son born Aug. 2y, 1795, died 
in infancy; 3, Aaron F., born Sept. 5, 1804, and settled in Cincinnati, O., 
where he died October, 1847, leaving children ; 4, Frederick G., born 
Aug. 15, 1810. 

Sally Fleming died Aug. 21, 1829, and on March 3d, 1836, Judge 
Read married, second, IMiss Mary Mead, of Bedford, N. Y. He died 

. Mrs. Mary Read is still living in Bedford, aged 85 

years. 

Of the children of Zalmon Read, 2d, named above, Aaron married 
Mairia Hawley of Redding, and in 1818 removed to Sharoni, Conn. ; 
thence, after some years, to Troy, N. Y., where he was prominent in the 
business, social and religious life of the town. His son, the Rev. Charles 
Read, D. D., was for nearly fifty years pastor of one of the largest and 
wealthiest churches of Richmond, Va., — the Grace Street Presbyterian — 
and was a learned, pious and eloquent divine. Dr. Read was one of the 
principal speakers at the 150th anniversary of the First Church of Christ 
of Redding in 1883. 

Harry, 2d, married Sally Jackson of Norwalk, and lived and died in 
Lonetown near his father, in the house now owned by William Louns- 
bury. He had one child, Huldah, who never married. 

Samuel Read lived in the house now occupied by Captain Day, below 
the Congregational Church. He was a deacon in tfliat church for many 

years, and a man of prominence in town affairs. He maried Laura , 

and had two daughters, Clarissa and Betsey. 

Clarissa, daughter of Zalmon, lived, unmarried, in the old homestead 
of her father in the rear of the residence of the late Mrs. Catherine Read. 

Frederick Read married, Nov. 20, 1839, Eleanor, daughter of Joel 



HISTORY OF REDDING, 



263 



Gray, of Redding, a prominent man in the town and state.* Their 
children were: i, Charles F., born June 5, 1843; married, July 29, 1869, 
Rowena S. Wood of Redding, and has children : Daniel, Nellie, and 
Maude, deceased, 2, Delia Gray, born Oct. 8, 1846; married, first, Nov. 8, 
1890, Jesse B. Sherwood, and second, John Burr Goodsell; no children. 
3, George, born November 30, 1848; married April 24, 1873, Miss Hattie 
Bassett, of Birmingham, Conn. ; has one son, Frank. 4, Aaron, born 
Sept. 15th, 1855 ; married, Sept. 10, 1879, Miss Ella A. Wright, of Dan- 
bury, Conn.; no children. 5, Zalmon, born Oct. 8, 1859; married Miss 
Jennie F. Olmstead, of Redding, Dec. 16, 1886, and has children, Harold 
Frederick, Ernest Olmstead, and Eleanor Gray. Frederick Read, the 
father, died in Redding, Sept. 6, 1891, aged 74 years. His wife Eleanor, 
died April i, 1899, aged 80 years. 

Benjamin Read, youngest son of Zalmon 2d, married Miss Catherine 
Sellick of Danbury, Jan. ist, 1851. Their children were: John C, born 
Oct. 13, 1853; WilHam S., born Oct. 12, 1855; Mary C, born in 1861, 
died in infancy; Carrie C, born Dec. 13, 1862. Of these children, John 
married Miss Jennie Lyon, of Redding, Apr. 7, 1880, and has children, 
Herbert, who graduated at Cornell University 1905, and is now an elec- 
trical engineer in Pittsburg, Pa. ; Elizabeth Skidmore, who graduated 
from the St. Louis, Mo., High School in 1900, and later from the St. 
Louis Normal School, and is now a teacher in the public schools of St. 
Louis ; and 3d, Ferris Lyon. 

William S. Read is a prominent business man in Tucson, Ariz., with 
large mining interests in Mexico. He married Miss Gertrude Strauss, 
of Tucson, June 25, 1889, and has two children, Olive and Lacy. 

*His grand-daughter, Mrs. John Burr Gcwdsell, of Redding, has his com- 
mission as Cornet in the State militia, signed by Gov. Oliver Wolcott. It reads 
as follows : 

Oliver Wolcott, Esquire, Captain General and Commander in Chief in and over 

the State of Connecticut in the United States of America, 
To Toe) Gray, 2d, Gent. 

Greeting: — You being by the General Assembly of this State accepted to be 
Cornet of the Third Company of the Third Regiment of Horse Artillery, in the 
Militia of this State, to take rank from the 26th day of June, a. d. t8i8, reposing 
special trust and confidence in your fidelity, courage and good conduct, I do by 
virtue of the laws of this State me thereunto enabling appoint and empower you 
to take the said Company into your care and charge as their Cornet, carefully and 
diligently to discharge that office and trust, exercising your inferior officers and 
soldiers in the use of their arms according to the rules and discipline of war or- 
dained and established by the laws of this State, keeping them in good order and 
government and commanding them to obey you as their Cornet, and you are to 
observe all such orders and directions as from time to time you shall receive either 
from me or from other your superior officers pursuant to the trust hereby reposed 
in you. 

Given under my hand and the Public Seal of this State at New Haven, the 
20th day of October, A. D. 1818. 

By his Excellency's command, Oliver Wolcott. 

Thomas Day^ Secretary, 



264 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



Carry C. married Harry Olmstead, June 16, 1886, and has two chil- 
dren : Edith and Edmund. They reside in Chicago, 111. 

Hezekiah Read, son of Col. John Read, born Feb. 25, 1753, married, 
May 12, 1774, Anna Gorham, and had a son, Hezekiah, Jr., born March 
23, 1783, who married, for his first wife, Anna Banks, of Greenfield Hill, 
Conn., and had a daugliter, Amelia U., now living in Ypsilanti, Mich. 
Anna Gorham, first wife of Hezekiah Read, Sr., died Feb. 2}^, 1785, and 
he married second, Abigail Hull, Feb. 22, 1789, and had a daughter, De- 
borah, who married John Read Hill, a well known citizen of Redding, 
Who lived many years at the "manor" of his ancestor, Col. John Read, 
now owned by Mr. Henry A. Dimon. Also a son, Samuel B., born April 
I, 1802, who married Camille Lyon, and settled first at Sharon, Conn., 
where a son, John, was born to them. When the latter was twelve years 
old they removed to Ypsilanti, Mic'h., where the father, Samuel, died in 
1884, aged 83 years. His son John, married, in 1900, his cousin, Amelia 
U., and died June 30, 1902, aged ']6 years. 

Hezekiah Read, Sr., was the ancestor of Mrs. Dora Read Goodale, 
and of Elaine and Dora Goodale, the poets. 

ROGERS. 
Janies Rogers was a prominent man in his day and filled many re- 
sponsible offices in the town. He appears as early as 1762. His children 
were: Joseph, born Oct. 31st, 1762; Chloe, born Oct. 24th, 1766; James, 
born April 28, 1768; ^^ron, born Aug. 22, 1770. (Town record.) 

RUMSEY. 

Joseph Rumsey appears in Redding as early as 1747. His will, dated 
December 27th, 1754, mentions his wife Sarah, and children Isaac, Sarah, 
Joseph, Daniel, William and Ephraim. The will of Daniel Rumsey, of 
Reading, probated March loth, 1761, mentions his father, Robert, broth- 
ers John Rumsey and Seth Hull. John Rumsey settled in Reading ; his 
children by his wife Esther, were: Abigail, bapt. Feb. 19th, 1751 ; 
Rachel, bapt. Feb. 25th, 1753; Mary, bapt, June 5th, 1755; Nathan, bapt. 
Aug. 8th, 1756; David, bapt. Jan. 28th, 1759; Mary, bapt. June 15, 1761 ; 
Esther, bapt. May 13th, 1764; and Eben, bapt. Feb. 4th, 1768. 

Isaac Rumsey married Abigail St. John, May 23d, 1761. Children: 
Abigail, born Dec. 25th, 1761 ; Jeremiah, born May 23, 1762; Ruth, born 
Dec. 29, 1763 ; Noah, born Mch. 28, 1768. 

SANFORD.* 

Thomas Sanford, bom in England probably from 1600 to 1610, son 
as we believe of Anthony Sanford (and Joan, daughter of John Strat- 



*Condensed from Miss Rebecca D. Beach's Beach- Sanford Genealogy, and from 
the records of Edward J. Sauford, of Knoxville. Tenn. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



265 



ford), the son of Raulf Sanford, of Stowe, County Gloucester, England. 
This Thomas married Dorothy, daughter of Henry Meadows, of Stowe, 
and they came soon after with the John Winthrop colony to Boston, Mass. 
First appears of record in Dorchester, Mass., where he received land, 
1634 and 1635. Made freeman in the colony March 9th, 1637. In 1639 
'he came with a colony from Dorchester and Watertown and settled in 
Milford, Conn., where his name appears in the earliest records. His 
wife Dorothy probably died in Dorchester. He had two children by her, 
Ezekiel, and Sarah wiho married Richard Shute, of East Chester, Conn., 

Aug. 14, 1656. Thomas Sanford married second Sarah . His 

children by her were Mary, born in Milford, Jan. 16, 1741 ; Samuel, born 
Apr. 20, 1643; Thomas, Jr., bom December, 1644; Ephraim, born May 
17th, 1646; Elizabeth, born Aug. 27th, 1648, married, Oct. 21, 1669, 
Obadiah Allyn, of Middletown, Conn. Thomas Sanford died in Milford, 
October, 1681. His will is dated Sept. 23, 1681. Estate appraised by 
John Beard and Samudl Clark, Oct. 21, 1681. Amount, £450, i8s. 3d. 
He was one of three appointed by Governor Treat, May, 1661, "in the 
Marshall's absence," to seach for the regicides, Whalley and Goffe. 

Ezekiel, eldest child of Thomas above, settled in Fairfield, and mar- 
ried, April 25th, 1665, Rebecca Wickla (Sdhenck's History of Fairfield 
says Rebecca, daug'hter of John and Rebecca Whelpley, of Fairfield.) 
He died in Fairfield, 1683, where he was a large land holder. His widow 
Rebecca was administrator of his estate. She died before it was settled ; 
final settlement in 1697. Their children were: Sarah, born Mar. 5th, 1666, 
married Cornelius Hull, Jr. ; Ezekiel, Jr., born March 6th, 1668 ; Mary, 
bom April 3d, 1670, married Theophilus Hull ; Rebecca, born Dec. 13th, 
1672, married John Seeley ; Thomas, born May 2d, 1675 ; Martha, born 
June 29th, 1677; Elizabeth, bom Sept. 6, 1679. 

Of the above children we are concerned with Ezekiel, Jr., who mar- 
ried, in 1696, Rebeccah Gregory. Their children were: Joseph, born 
March 27, 1697, in Fairfield, where he lived and died ; Lemuel, born Dec. 
i6th, 1699, settled in Redding; Zachariah, born Nov. 24th, 1701 ; Ezekiel 
3d, born July 27, 1704; Samuel, born Feb. 20th, 1707-8, settled in Red- 
ding; Ephraim, born Feb. 12th, 1708-9, settled in Redding; Rebeccah, 
born Nov. 21, 1710, married, about 1730, William Hill; Abigail, born 
Aug. 29th, 1714, married, Dec. 4th, 1735, James Bradley; Elnathan, born 
Sept. ist, 17 17, probably died young. 

Of the above children three, Lemuel, Samuel and Ephraim, settled in 
Redding, Lemuel being one of the original members of the Congrega- 
tional Church here, and Samuel and Ephraim joining it in the first year 
of its existence, viz. 1734. There was another of the name — Nathaniel — 
vv'ho was an original member; no doubt the son of that Ephraim given 
above, the son of Thomas, who married, Nov. i8th, 1669, Mary, daughter 



266 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

of Thomas Powell, of New Haven, Ct., and, according to Savage, bad 
children Mary, Samuel, Ephraim, Thomas, Natihianiel, and Zadiariah. 

This Nathaniel settled in Umpawaug. His children recorded were: 
Abel H., baptized March 2Sth, 1733; Ruth, baptized May 12th, 1737; 
Esther, baptized May 27th, 1744. 

I have no further record of t'his family. 

Lemuel San ford settled in the Centre. He was one of the first com- 
mittee-men of the society, and prominent in public affairs. He married. 
May 12, 1730, Rebecca Squires, of Fairfield. Their children were: 
Hesekiah, probably born in Fairfield; Sarah, bapt. Sept. 19th, 1734; 
Anne, bapt. Nov. ist, 1736; Lydia, bapt. June 4th, 1738; Lemuel, bapt. 
April 20th, 1740; Esekiel, bapt. July 4th, 1742; Anne, bapt. Oct. 7th. 
1744; Roda, bapt. Feb. 26th, 1749. 

Hezekiah married Hanna'h , and settled in the Centre, on the 

farm now owned by Mr. Hinckel. His children were: Aaron, bapt. May 
29th, 1757; Hannah, bapt. August 26th, 1759; William, bapt. Oct. 14th, 
1764; Eunice, bapt. June 7th, 1772; Huldab, bapt. May i8th, 1777. 

Aaron, his eldest son, settled in the Centre, and lived in the house later 
owned by Mrs, Connors.* He married Lydia H'awley, daugtiter of 
William Hawley, November 2d, 1780. Their dhildren were : Betsey, 
born Oct. 5th, 1781 ; Hannah, born May 31'st, 1784; Aaron, born July 8th, 
1786; Hazvley, horn July i6th, 1789; Jesse Lee, born July 27th, 1791 ; 
Eunice, born August loth, 1793; Walter, born Feb. i8th, 1796; Char- 
lotte, born Jan. 8th, 1800; Lydia, born Sept. 23d, 1803; William A., born 
Jan. 15th, 1807. 

Aaron Sanford, Jr., settled on Redding Ridge, in the eastern part of 
the town. He married, December 19th, 1813, Fanny Hill, daughter of 
Andrew L. Hill. Their children were eleven in number : Andrew H., 
Daniel, Mary, Clara, Henry, Aaron, Fanny, Jesse Lee Mary Elizabeth, 
John, and Julia H. 

Of the above children of Aaron Sanford, Jr., Andrew H. married 
Louisa Taylor, of Elasfcon, and had one son, Andrew H. who died while a 
soldier in the Civil War. Daniel, the second son, married first Anna 
Maria Ames, by whom he bad one child, Mary. After the death of his 
first wife he married second Helen E. Sammis, of Norwalk, by whom 
he had three children, Helen, Belle and Daniel S. Mr. Sanford was 
founder and for many years principal of the Sanford School on Redding 
Ridge, now conducted by his son Daniel. (See Chap, xxii.) 

Henry, the third son, entered the employ of the Adams Express Com- 
pany, and rose by application and ability to be President of that great 
corporation. He married first Nancy Lockwood, of Bridgeport, by whom 
'be 'had one son, Samuel Simons, now Professor of Music in Yale Uni- 

*For sketch of Aaron Sanford, see Chapter XIX. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



267 



versity. After the d'eath of his first wife, Mr. Sanford married second 
Mrs. Olive Burchard, of New York City. 

Aaron, the fourth son, married Flora Jane Bradley, of Newtown, and 
settled in that town. His children were, Mary and William H., the lat- 
ter now connected with the Oentury Magazine. Mr. Sanford was for a 
•term of years High Sheriff of Fairfield County, and held other offices of 
trust. 

Fanny, the third daughter, married Edward P. Shaw, for many years 
Principal of the Sanford School. (See Chap, xxii.) Their children were 
Emma, H'enr}% Edward, and Samuel. 

Mary Elizabeth, the fourth daughter, married Marshall; S. Driggs, 
of New York, and had one child, who died in infancy. 

Jesse, the 5th son, married Fanny M. Osborn, of Redding. Their 
children are Marshall D., Jesse O., Samuel H., Sarah E., Olivia, George, 
and Aaron. 

John, 'the 6th son, m.arried Jennie Miller, of Redkling. Their children 
are Elbert M. and Jo'hn C. 

Hawley, fbe second son of Aaron Sanford, Sr., married Betsey How, 
November 2d, 1814, by whom he had three children, Jesse Lee, John 
Russell, and Be'tsey. On the death of his wife he married second Sarah 
Ketchum, November 20th, 1823. The children of this marriage were 
Francis A., Hiawley, Aaron K., David B., Lydia, Morris H., and Mary 
A. S. 

Of the last named children, Kaw'ley, the second son, married Eliza- 
beth Johnson, of Easton, Conn., and 'had children Mary L., now Mrs. 
John Burrill ; Alcimore M., now a prominent member of the Wisconsin 
Conference ; Wilbur Y., Harriet, John, Nellie, Jennie, Frank, and Charles. 

Aaron K. married Frances L. Burnham, and had one child, Clarence 
R. He has received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Syracuse 
University. He is a well known member of the New York Conference 
of the M. E. Church, having been Presiding Elder for two terms, and 
Missionary Superintendent of the New York City Church Extension and 
Missionary Society, as well as having held other prominent official posi- 
tions. He was a delegate to the General Conference of tihe Methodist 
Episcopal Church in 1880. and also a member of the Ecumenical INIeth- 
odist Conference at City Road Chapel, London, Eng., in 1901. 

David B. Sanfoird married Cornelia A. Lacy, of Bethel. They had 
one child, Cornelia. On the death of his wife Mr. Sanford married sec- 
ond Julia A. Janes, w'ho bore him three children, Harriet, Lydia, and 
Edward. On her death *hie married third Charlotte Wi'lley. 'David B. 
Sanford removed w'hile still a young man to Independence, la., where 
several of his children are now living. He died in 1904. 

Morris H. Sanford entered the Civil War as Second Lieutenant of 



268 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Company C in the Nineteenth Infantry, afterward the Second Heavy 
Artillery, Conn. Volunteers, and was promoted for merit to be First 
Lieutenant and later Captain; was severely wounded at the battle of 
Cedar Creek, Va. On November 23, 1859, he married Elizabeth A. 
White, of Easton, and shortly after his honorable discharge from the 
service he removed to Iowa, where he died, September 30, 1875-. He was 
a man of large ability and of much influence in his community. His 
death, as the result of an army disease, in his early prime brought grief 
to a wide circle of friends. His children were: Wilbur, Minnie, Fred- 
eric, Fanny, and Morris D., of whom Frederic and Morris D. are now 
living in Iowa. ]\Irs. Sanford, now Mrs. Plane, resides in Cedar Rapids, 
la. 

Of tile daughters, Lydia married the Rev. Henry B. Mead, a Meth- 
odist clergym.an, who died April 15th, 1906. Her oldest son, George B., 
is a Met'hodist clergyman, a member of the New York Conference. 
Emorv L., the second son, is ihead masiter of the Utica N. Y. Free Acad- 
emy. Havvdey S., the third son, is in the life insurance business in Toledo, 
O. A daughter, Mary, died July 13, 1898. 

Mary A. S. married the Rev. Alexander McAllister, of the New York 
East Conference, who died July 28, 1906. 

Francis A. Sanfofd, the eldest of the above niam'ed dhrldren, rermained 
in Redding and was for for'ty 3':ears one of the central figures in the life 
of the town. He married Lucy Hawley Knapp. Their children were : 
Caroline Krtapp, Arthur Benton, Myron Reed, Emma Caroline, and Frank 
Herbert. The following sketch of his career will be apprediated by those 
v.iho knew him in life: 

Francis Asbury Sanford, eldest son of Hawley and Sarah Ketdhum 
Sanford, was born on August 13, 1824. Though his boyhood was spent 
on the far-extended farm of his ancestors in the valley of the Saugatuck, 
and thougii river, meadow, and mountain always attracted him, his 
stronger inclination early led 'h'im to a commercial life. After the usual 
time at school, completed by a brief Gourse in more advanced studies at 
Amenia Seminary, and a short experience in teaching, he became clerk 
for Edward Starr who owned the general store on Redding Ridge, where, 
through various oircumstiances, in a few years he passed from employe 
to owner. 

In other days the country store stood to the needs of the community 
in a far different relation from that now held by its small and unim- 
portant successor. All of the wants df the neig'hbor'hood were there sup- 
plied, the luxuries as v>rell as the necessities of the daily life. Silks, 
satinis. arid broadcloth were as much a part of the stock as l^he calicoes 
and the jeans; drugs and lotions were to be found there, as well as the 
staples that maintained the community. If the carpenter did not find the 




FRANCIS A. SANFORD, 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



269 



odd hinge or lock necessary to ^the new house, the order for it was left 
at the "store." Here the housewife could furnish from garret to cellar her 
wew ihonie, if it were not too pretentious ; no department was forgotten 
in the multifarious supply that streamed forth from the unfailing source. 
An amusing incident related of two men in a neighboring town will show 
how complete was the asaortment carried, even thoug^h the story cantiot 
iiow be verified. One hiad wagered the otiher that he could not ask for 
anything which the merchant could not supply. Devising w'hat seemed 
to him an impossible request, the other of the two went to the store and 
innocently asked if he might see a "second-hand pulpit." The clerk led 
him to a loft in an adjoining storeroom arid showed 'him the article in 
question, which had been boug'ht some timve before at the dism'antling of 
an laband'oned church. 

Perhaps nowhere in New England was a stock more varied tlian at 
the Ridge store. Under Mr. Sanford's management the circle of trade 
grew until, in some directions, its radius was six and seven miles. To 
(illustrate by a detail or two, in the height of its activity, the grocery 
'department needed a hogshead of m.olasses each month to supply its 
customers ; flour was, one year, bought by the carload ; tons of butter were 
yearly sent to the Bridgeport market and even to New Haven ; eggs by 
the thousands of dozen were barreled and sent out in continuous flow; 
earthen ware oame each year by the wagon-load from the pottery at 
Norwalk ; the contents of crates of the better ware, straight from the 
packers in England, were awaited by the dames who loved a tastily fur- 
nisihed table. 

Where all the 'hides, hickory nuts, and huckleberries came from was 
as great a wonder as where the cases of calico and loads of com and 
"feed" disappeared to. W'hy has not some one written up the relation 
of the country store to the economics of the early republic ? What dick- 
erings and bargainings there were in the thirty years of the development 
of trade at the Ridge ! What pleasantries, what arguments in religion, 
politics, the social order over the bartering — discussions out of which 
came cluanged views of life and duty. To illustrate the pleasantry of 
those sturdy men, one incident will be sufficient. Late, one zero night, 
a prominent member of the Ridge comnumity stood buttoning bis coat 
and drawing on his gloves. "Boys, I'd give a dollar if I had that stove 
to go home by." "You sihall have it," shouted some one, and, bars be- 
ing found, and the stovepipe detached, four men carried the red-hot 
stove out into the arctic temperature and over tihe hill to the west, while 
the rash proposer tried to extract a dollar's worth of warmth out of the 
venture. 

The Ridge is no longer a center of trade. The farmers, the drovers, 
the clergymen of that evening circle are gone. One name only remains 



270 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



unstarred — that of the genial village tailor, with his English pleasantries, 
who measured critically, if he did not weigh in a balance, his fellow 
townsmen. Honor and reverence be to him while he still lingers in green 
old age, most worthy representative of departed colleagues strong and 
true. 

But though he built up and mianaged the business in all its details, 
Mr. Sanford's real forte from the first was to be seen in other than the 
daily barter. The conduct of this, so far as possible, he left to others. 
He loved a larger line of work. In 1852, two years after he acquired 
the business, a petition was circulated by the people of the Ridge which 
brought him die post-mastersliip ; the same year saw him notary public 
and Justice of the Peace, offices which he held practically continuously 
until he left Redding in 1879. At the breaking out of the Rebellion, he 
was a Selectman, and united with his two associates in the call for a 
special town meeting "to consider the expediency of appropriating funds 
to defray the expenses of the families of those v/ho enlist in the service 
of the United States army." Throughout the strife he Avas a staunch 
and enthusiastic supporter of the national administration. In 1865, while 
the clouds of war yet hung over the land, he was elected Senator for the 
nth District, and filled an important place in the counsels of that Legis- 
lature, originating useful measures still in force. Again, in 1868, he was 
a member of the Legislature, as a Representative. Long he was a Com- 
missioner of the Superior Court. In the passing years there also came 
to him constant opportunities for advice in the more unnoticed, but hard- 
ly less important, offices of administrator of estates, executor of wills, 
treasurer of his church, chairman of school boards, and banker of the 
community — and these, with other trusts, occupied all the spare hours 
of a busy life. His safe was always full of papers, not only of those of 
the immediate neighborhood, but of those of adjoining localities. 

What varied scenes the store beheld in the changing years ! Here 
came complainants to "Squire Frank" concerning those who were dis- 
turbing the public peace or welfare ; here men were more than once sent 
behind prison walls ; here droves of cattle were exchanged for endorsed 
notes ; here was heard the 'T give, devise, and bequeath" of the last will 
and testament ; the annual tax was on certain days to be paid here ; here 
the hard-working farmer came to leave his small gains to be put into 
somie saving institution, or some widow to apply to the Governiment for 
pension ; committees of all kinds and complexions m^ett here and arrived 
at decisions that affected the interests and welfare of a wide-spread com- 
munity. The center of this life, Mr. Sanford gave the best of his years 
to these and similar activities. When remonsitrated with that some par- 
ticular act was unrewarded he would answer, "Oh, well, ihe cannot afiford 
to pay a lawyer's fees." It was in the same spirit that he sent a substitute 




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HISTORY OF REDDING. 



271 



to the war, though exempt by official position. Who sihall say that he 
did not reap full reward in the joy of service to 'his fellow men ? 

The burning of his residence, store, and other buildings on May 12, 
1879, marked the end of his activities in Redding. Afterwards he lived 
in New York, later in Fairfield and in Bridgeport. 

From his early years he was a most conscientious and valuable mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church — of which his grandfather, Aaron 
Sanford, had been the first male member and the first steward, class lead- 
er, and local preacher in New England. Throughout his long life, he 
illustrated in his daily walks the many virtues of Christian discipleship. 
In serenity and a good man's hope of the life immortal, he died at Bridge- 
port, Conn., September 13, 1899. 

Lucy Knapp Sanford, his wife, the faithful, untiring companion of 
all his enterprises — herself a resident of Redding, and a descendant of 
sturdy and historic families, both on the paternal and maternal sides — 
died a few months later, May 23, 1900. 

Of the children of Francis A. and Lucy H. Sanfofd : 

Arthur Benton Sanford was educated in preparatory schools and at 
Wesleyan University, becoming a member of the (f> B. K. Society at grad- 
uation, and afterwards taking the M. A. degree in course. Having joined 
the New York East Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he 
served as pastor in Connecticut, New York City, and Brooklyn — one 
pastorate being at John Street, New York City, the mother churdh of 
American Methodism. In 1890, he became Assistant Editor of the 
Methodist Review, filling that position till 1901, and for a short period 
Avas acting editor of the publication. He was, besides, at the General Con- 
ferences of 1888 and 1892, one of tlie editors of the Daily Advocate; 
in 1891, editor of the Proceedings of the Second Ecumenical Methodist 
Conference, at Wasihington, D. C. ; in 1891-1901, editor of llhe Methodist 
Year Book and the General Minutes of the Church. 

After long service as an Assistant Secretary of his Conference, he 
became Secretary of that body in 1897, and yet fills this important office, 
being also editor of the annual Minutes of the Conference. In 1900, he 
was a delegate to the Ecumenical Missionary Conference of all Denom- 
inations, in New York City; in 1901, he was a member of the Third 
Ecumenical Methodist Conference, held in Jdhn Wesley'-s "Cathedral 
Church," the City Road Chapel. London, England ; in 1904, he went as a 
delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
at Los Angeles, California. In 1904-5, he served as President of the 
New York Preachers' Meeting, of the Methodist Episcopal Qiurch. 

In 1886, he married Miss Nellie M. Hunt, daughter of the late Sand- 
ford Hunt, D. D., Agent of the Methodist Book Concern in New York 
city. Their children are Arthur Hunt Sanford, now a Sop^homore at 



272 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Princeton University, and Laurence Hunt Sanford. In 1893, tlie subject 
of our sketch received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Syra- 
cuse University. Among other prominent positions 'he has filled, Dr. 
Sanford is now a member of the Methodist Historical Society in the 
city of New York, and one of its Vice-Presidents ; a member of the Board 
of the Deaconess Home, Brooklyn, N. Y, ; a Trustee of the John Street 
M. E. Church Trust Fund Society ; a Manager of the American Sabbath 
Union; a Manager of the Tract Society of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church ; and a Trustee of Syracuse University. He has been a some- 
time lecturer on early Methodism and on European and American travel. 
At present, he is a pastor in the New York East Conference. 

For a sketch of Prof. Myron R. Sanford, see Chap. xix. 

Walter, the third son of Aaron Sanford, Sr., married, December 6, 
182 1, Harriet M. Booth. She bore him one son, Charles, w'ho died 
October 29, 1901. After her death Mr. Sanford married second Emily 
Gorham. 

William, fourth son of Aaron Sanford, Sr., married, May 2d, 1832, 
Harriet Tuttle. They had one daughter, Martha Tuttle, who died April 
30, 1852, aged eig5iteen years. 

Of the daughters of Aaron Sanford, Sr., Betsey married Jolhn Read 
Hill, of Redding. Hannah married the Rev. Aaron Hunt, a Methodist 
clergyman, celebrated in his day as being the first to successfully contest 
the o'ld colonial law -wthich forbade all ministers except those of the 
"Standing Order" to perform the marriage ceremony. Mr. Hunt was 
at one tim'e located and resided for several years in Redding. Charlotte 
married Thomas B. Fanton. Lydia married Aaron Sanford Hyatt. 

Lemuel Sanford, second son of Lemuel Sanford, settled in the Centre, 
near 'his father. He married, September 20th, 1768, Mary Russell, of 
North Branford, Conn. The circumstances attending his marriage are 
thus narrated : He left Redding on horseback, early on the morning of 
his wedding-'day, but was delayed on the road and did not reac^h Branford 
until midnight. By that time the wedding guests had dispersed and the 
family had retired ; but he roused them up, collected the guests, and the 
ceremony was performed. The next day bride and groom returned to 
Redding, travelling on horseback. The children of Lemuel and Mary 
Sanford were: Lemuel, born July i8th, 1769 ; Roda, born Mar. 4th, 1773 ; 
Mary, born May iSbh, 1776, married Dr. Thomas Peck ; Abigail, bom 
1779, died in infancy; Jonathan R., born February nth, 1782; Abigail, 
born April i8th, 1784; Lucretia, born May 4th, 1786. 

Mr. Lemuel Sanford died March 12th, 1803, at Danbury, in the per- 
formance of his duties as Judge of the County Court, leaving a most 
honorable record. He had filled all the positions of honor and trust in 
his native town, and during the Revolution had been a member of the 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



'^IZ 



Committee of Supply, the duties of which kept him absent in Danbury 
and Fairfield nearly the whole period of the war. He several times 
represented the town in the General Assembly, and also held the office 
of Associate Judge of the County Court. 

Lemuel Sanford, eldest son of Judge Sanford, after being educated 
at President Dwight's famous academy on Greenfield Hill, returned to 
Redding, married Mary Heron, daughter of Squire Heron, and settled 
in the Centre, on the farm now owned by Albert Gorham. He was a 
man of much ability, and quite prominent in town affairs. He had but 
two children, Mary and Julia. 

Jonathan Russell Sanford, second son of Lemuel and Mary Russell 
Sanford, married Maria, daughter of Dr. Thomas F, and Hannali Chrissy 
Davies, October 17, 1808. Their children were: Amanda, Maria, Lem- 
uel, Jonathan R., and Thomas. It has been the lot of very few men to 
be so closely identified with the affairs of their native town. In 1808, the 
year of his marriage, he was elected Town Clerk and Treasurer, and 
held these offices by consecutive appointment the remainder of his life, 
a period of nearly half a century. After his election as Judge of Pro- 
bate he continued in that office till he reached the age of seventy. In 
183 1, he succeeded his brother Lemuel as Clerk and Treasurer of the 
Congregational Society and continueid to serve the church in that capacity 
till two years before his death. At different periods he represented the 
town in the State Legislature, and it is said of him in Crosby's Obituary 
Records that he discharged 'the duties of all the various trusts both of 
a public and private nature with a sternness of integrity and a purity of 
purpose seldom equaled, and through a long life 'lie enjoyed in an emi- 
nent degree the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. He died 
August 21, 1858. 

Judge Lemuel Sanford, eldest son of Jonathan Russell and Maria 
(Davies) Sanford, was born in Redding, September 18, 1816. Following 
closely in the footsteps of his father and grandfather he became in his 
early manihood deeply interested in the affairs of his native town. Under 
the personal instruction of his uncle. Rev. Jonathan Bartlett, he acquired 
a fine classical education, and early in life developed a taste and talent for 
legal studies which continued all through 'his life. His 'habits of close 
investigation into any case that came to his notice gave him the enviable 
record of never having a decision given by him reversed, when cases 
decided by him were carried into the higher courts. 

During the time his father was Probate Judge, he filled the office of 
Probate Clerk, and at the retirement of his father, he was elected to suc- 
ceed him, and with the exception of one year cotLtinued to hold the office 
till he also reached the age of retirement. At the Town Meeting im- 
mediately succeeding his father's death, 'he was unanimously elected to 



2 74 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



fill the offices of Town Clerk and Treasurer, left vacant. In con- 
tinuous faithful service of nearly fifty years, although for much of 
the time his party wais in tlhe minority, he continued to hold these offices, 
with an interim of but one year, till the time of his dealth, in 1890. 

In 1847 he represented the Eleventh Senatorial District in the State 
Senate to the entire satisfaction of his constituents, being at that time 
the youngest member of the Senate. His whole life was spent 
in 'Ms native town, taking the deepest interest in whatever pertained to 
its welfare, and that he 'had the esteem and confidenoe of his fellow 
townismen was evidenceid by the numerous positions of trust and respon- 
sibility ftliat were given to his care irrespective of party. He was also 
an honorary member of the Fairfield Historical Society. 

For many years he was a member of the Congregational Church, 
and succeeded his father as Clierk and Treasurer of the Society, con- 
tinuing in office till his death. He married Abby Maria, daughter of 
Braid!ley and Be'tsey Hill, and built, in 1847, the house adjoining that of 
his uncle, Rev. Jonathan Bartlett. He died June 9th, 1890. His only 
son, Jonathan Bartlett Sanford, married Edith Dayton, of Riiladelphia, 
Pa., and occupies the old homestead. There were six daughters: Mary 
Russell, who married Henry S. Osborn, of Redding, died Dec. 9th, 1895; 
Sarah Elizabeth; Abbie Bartlett, married Rev. Wm. Bailey Hague, of 
Galesburg, 111 ; Martha Hill, married Henry S. Osiborn ; Alice Amanda, 
married Wm. Bartow Hill, of Gr&enfield, Conn. ; Gertrude Lucre'tia, mar- 
ried LeRoy Woolsey Randle, of Wilton, Conn. 

Jonathan R., the second son, represented his town in the Connecticut 
General Assembly, 1854, 1870, 1874, and was Senator from Vhe Elev- 
enitih District in 1878-9. He also held many 'town offices, was high in his 
party councils, and was often appointed to appraise and administer estates. 
He married. May 16, 1847, Clarissa, daughter of the late Deacon Samuel 
Read. They had but one child, Hannah Maria, who died suddenly at 
the age of twertty-five. He died February 28, 1897, 

Thomas Sanford, the youngest son, was for many years one of *he 
best known and most influential jmen in his oounty. In 1850 he was 
appointed Deputy Sheriff, which office he held for six years. In i860 
he was elected Sheriff of the Counlty, which office he filled for three 
years to the satisfaction of his constituents, but dedined a re-nomination. 
He served in the State Legislature in 1856, and again in 1877, and at 
various times served on imporitant State 'Oommissions appoimteld by the 
Governor. He was also largely employed in the settlement of 'estates. 
He married Charlotte A. Hewitt. They had a son, Thomas F., now a 
Professor in the University of California, and a daughter, Mary A. 

Ezekiel, third son of Lemuel Sanford the first, married Abigail Starr, 
November 21st, 1773, and settled in Boston district, in the western part 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



275 



of the town. His children were: MolHe, baptized December i8th, 1774. 
Rebecca, baptized April 24th, 1777. Ezekiel, baptized November ist, 
1778. Abigail, baptized Mardi ipt^h, 1780; perhaps others. He is called 
captain in the old records. Some of his descendants are now living in 
Amenia, N. Y. 

Samuel Sanford the first, settled in Umpawaug. He is called captain 
in the records. His children were: Daniel, baptized April 22d, 1734; 
Seth, baptized August 23d, 1735; Mary, March 19th, 1738; David, De- 
cember 2d, 1739; Abigail, Januar)- 30th, 1743; Samuel, May 5'th, .1745; 
Sarah, May lotjh, 1747; Esther, Apnil i6th, 1749; Ezra, March 25th, 
175 1 ; Rache'l, February 25th, 1753 ; Peter, May 23d, 1756. Captain Sam- 
uel Sanford died November 6t^h, 1768, aged sixty-two years. 

Daniel married Esther Hull, April i8t)h, 1758. lOhildren: Eli, bap- 
tized August 16, 1761 ; Chloe, July sth, 1767; and others. Sefh married 
Rebecca, daughter of Deacon Stephen Burr, April 25th, 1759. Her chil- 
dren, named in Deacon Burr's will, 1776, were: Elias, Ebenezer, Jodl, 
Elijah, Samuel, and Scth. Mary married Timothy Sanford, sion of 
Joseplh. Abigail married John Hawley, December 21st, 1762. Samuel, 
Jr., married Sarah Olmsted, July 23d, 1767. (Town record.) His dhil- 
dren recorded were: Uriah, baptized February 14th, 1768; Thomas, De- 
cember 17th, 1769. Peter married Abigail Keder, June ist, 1780. 

Ephraim Saniford, son of Ezekiel, Jr., settled in Sanfordtown, and 
was a large land owner there, as is S'hown by severaid deeds now in the 
posses'sion of his descendants, some of which date back as far as 1733. 
His children by his wife Elizabeth Mix, according to the parisfh record, 
were : Radhel, baptized July 29th, 1733 ; Abigail, baptized May i8th, 
1735; John, April 2g\^i, 1739; Oliver, September 20th, 1741 ; Lois, Sep- 
tember 17th, 1743; Huldah, May 5'fh, 1748; Augustus, Ju'l'y I5t/h, 1753; 
Esther, April 27th, 1755. His will, dated January 30th, 1761, mentions 
ako Ephraim, Elizabeth, and Tabith'a. Ephraim Sanfoird, according to 
the family tradition, was tbe first man having a store of goodls in Red- 
ding. His goods were brought from Bositon. Of his dliirdreti, Abigail 
married Daniel Jackson, Octdber 2d, 1755. John married Anna Wheeler, 
and settled in the Foundry district, in Redding. His dhildren were: 
Jameis, Steplien, Ephraim, John, (Eli, Huldah, Dods, BaJster, Elizabeth, 
and Annie. James, the eldest son, settled in the Foundry district, near 
his fadhier. He was a (teamster in the Revolutionary a,rmy, and was 
present at the execution of Jones and Smith on Gallows Hill. He mar- 
ried Sarah, daugliter of John Bdach, and grand-daughter of Rev. Jo/hn 
Beach, the faithful missionary of the Ghurdh of England. 

He is called "Squire James" inrtftie records and was a man of force and 
prominence in the community. He lived in the old homestead on Rock 
House Hill, still tenanted by one of his descendants. He married Sarah 



2^6 HISTORY OF REDDING. 

Beach, daughter of Lazarus Beach and Lydia Sanford, in 1780, and died 
April 14th, 1842, aged 84 years. His children were: Lemuel, born Nov. 
20, 1781 ; Lydia Ann, born Aug. i, 1782; Isaac, born Apr. 23, 1786; Alan- 
son, born Jan. 20, 1789; Sally, born Feb. 14, 1794; John Beach, born Oct. 
10, 1796; James, Jr., born Jan. 10, 1799; Charles, born Jan. 7, 1801 ; a 

child, born Oct. i, 1804; Harriet, born , died April 29, 1840; Maria, 

born April, 1811, died March 28, 1824. 

James Sanford, Jr. above, married, Jan. 27, 1822, Miss Eliza French, 
and had children : John Turney, who died in infancy ; Turney, born Jan. 
22,, 1825; Senah, born Feb. 24, 1828; James, 3d, born Oct. 19, 1830; 
Sarah, born June 7th, 1833; Stephen, born March 28, 1835; Betsey, bom 
Sept. 13, 1838; Perkins, born Feb. 24, 1841 ; Abby, born July 21, 1843; 
Henry, born Jan. 29, 1846; Charles, born Feb. 5th, 1849. 

Of the above children, Turney married Mary Roe, of Southport, 
Conn., and had one child, George Turney, who married Florence Hill, of 
New Orleans, La., and died in Mississippi, Dec. 31, 1894, leaving a 
daughter, Beulah. 

James Sanford, 3d, married Sarah Meeker, of Redding, and has one 
son, William Clinton, who married Miss Edith Cole, of Weston, and one 
son, James Harold. 

Sarah married William E. Duncomb, of Redding, and had one daugh- 
ter, Emma Eliza, who married George Benjamin Beers, of Easton. 

Stephen married ]\lary Sophia Banks, of Redding, and has children: 
Emory Perkins and Stephen Ernest. Emory married Olivia Sanford, of 
Redding, and has two children. 

Betsey married George B. Sherwood, of Easton, and had one child, 
James Arthur Sherwood. 

Charles married Hannah Sherwood, and has two daughters, Elsie and 
Lucy. 

Died, JMay 26, 1883, Squire James Sanford, the father. 

John Sanford, Jr., son of John and Anna (Wheeler) Sanford, married 
first, 1788, Lydia Wheeler, of Weston, and second, Elizabeth Parsons. 
His children, all by the first wife, were: Elizabeth, born Aug. 15, 1790; 
Ruth, born April 22, 1792; Margaret, born Oct. 20, 1794; Sarah, born 
Jan. 25, 1797; John W., born May 21, 1799; Eli, born Aug. 4, 1801 ; 
Lydia A., born March 17, 1804. 

Of these children, Elizabeth married Aaron Lyon and had three chil- 
dren, Lemuel, Mary Eliza, and Lydia Louisa. Ruth married David Dun- 
combe, and had children: Henry B., David S., Asabel S., Charles, Harriet 
N., Lydia A., Aaron H., and William E. 

Margaret married Henry Dean ; no children. Sarah married Garry 
Dayton, and had children : Betsey, Caroline, Betsey, Lydia Ann, San- 
ford, and Charles W. John W. married Altha Fanton, of Weston, and 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



277 



had chiiaren: Mary Ann, unmarried; George Wheeler, died Dec. 6, 1842, 
aged 18 years; Harriet Stevens, died Feb. 4, 1853, aged 27 years; Flora 
Maria, died April 30, 1894, aged 66 years ; Edward J. and Georgiana. 

Edward J. removed to Knoxville, Tenn., in early life, where be be- 
came a prominent man, being at one time the RepubUcan nominee for 
Governor of Tennessee. He married, Aug. 21, i860, Miss Emma Chav- 
annes, daughter of the Rev. Adrian Chavannes, of Lausanne, Switzerland. 
Their children were: Edward T., now a prominent lawyer of Knoxville, 
Tenn., and who married Lutie Mallory Woodruff, of Knoxville, and has 
two children: Dorothy and Anna Magee; and Emma, who married Ed- 
ward Jackson Sanford, elder son of the Hon. William Eli Sanford, M. 
P., of Hamilton, Can., and has one child, Constance Phyllis. 

Georgiana, fourth daughter of John W. Sanford, married the Rev. 
Charles W. Kelley, July 11, 1876. 

Eli Sanford, the youngest son of John Sanford, Jr., married Feb. 26, 
1826, in New York City, Miss Eveline Argall, and had children: Eliza, 
Lydia Ann, Hannah J. (died May 5th, 1849, aged 18 years), and William 
E. 

Of these children, Eliza married, ist, Elijah P. Farmer, and second, 
Dr. James T. Alley, of Buffalo, N. Y. She had one child by the first 
husband : Hannah Eliza, who died in infancy ; and one by the second, 
William Sanford. Mrs. Alley died Aug. 11, 1886. 

Lydia Ann married Andrew Meeker, of Redding, and had one child, 
who died in infancy. 

William E. Sanford, youngest child of Eli, born Aug. 21, 1834, in 
New York, married, first, Emmeline Sanford Jackson, and on her death 
in 1858, Sophia Vaux, of Ottawa, Can. His children, ail by the second 
marriage, are Edward J., Henry Vaux (died in infancy), Edna and 
Muriel. 

Hon. William E. Sanford settled in Hamilton, Canada, and engaged 
in commercial pursuits. He is president of a large manufacturing con- 
cern, and is intimately connected with many monied and educational insti- 
tutions of Canada. In the year 1887, he was appointed by Her Majesty 
a member for life of the Canadian Senate, and has also been a member of 
various Government Commissions. He resides in Hamilton, Canada. 

Stephen Sanford, son of John and Ann (Wheeler) Sanford, married 
Sarah Curtis, of Huntington, Conn., and had children: Nehemiah C, 
Charlotte, Phoebe, John, Charles, Stephen, Jr., and Nelson, all of whom 
settled out of Redding, largely in Newtown and Roxbury, Conn. Nehe- 
miah C. married Nancy Bateman Shelton, of Huntington, and had an 
only child, Henry Shelton Sanford, who attained prominence in many 
lands and was of signal service to his country in her hour of need. Mr. 
Sanford began his diplomatic career as attach^ at St. Petersburg in 1847, 



2 78 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



under Hon. Ralph I. Ingersoll. The next year, 1848, 'he was acting 
Secretary of Legation under Hon, Andrew J. Donelson at Frankfort. In 
1849 he was appointed by President Taylor, Secretary of Legation at 
Paris, under Hon. William C. Revis, and on the departure of the latter 
in 1853, Charge de Affaires for nearly a year, arranging for our first pos- 
tal convention with France. He resigned and returned to this country 
in 1859, ^"^ soon after was sent by President Buchanan to New Gre- 
nada to negotiate for the extension of the Panama Railroad charter. His 
house in Washington during the winter of 1860-61, the year of the Peace 
Congress, was a centre of decisive discussion. Mr. Lincoln, immediately 
after his inauguration, appointed him Minister to Belgium, and within 
three days he was on his way to Paris under confidential instructions. 
His mission to Belgium was made to cover much diplomatic ground. 

Governor Seward said of him : "Mr. Sanford during the first year of 
the war was the Minister of the United States in Europe." During the 
eight and a half years that Mr. Sanford remained in Belgium he nego- 
tiated and signed the treaties of the Scheldt, of Commerce and Naviga- 
tion, of Trade Marks, and the Consular Convention, the first ever made 
by Belgium. The extradition treaty he had discussed failed by reason 
of one point, since yielded by our government. 

On Mr. Sanford's retirement from the diplomatic service and return 
to his native country, he became much interested in the industrial devel- 
opment of the South, particularly of Florida. In the latter he founded 
the town of Sanford, at the head of navigation on the St. Johns. There 
he created an extensive orange grove and tropical garden a mile out of 
the village. In this grove Mr. Sanford had gathered every species of 
orange known to horticuituriats from all over the world, and pretty much 
every important tropical fruit and plant. The writer was invited to visit 
it one day, as the guest of the diplomat, who gave his visitor a most in- 
teresting account, not only of the trees and plants, but of his efforts in 
securing them. This grove, a vast service in introducing improved 
species of the citrus family into Florida, was ruined by the great freeze 
of 1895. In 1884, Mr. Sanford again entered the diplomatic service as 
Plenipotentiary of the International Congo Association. In 1884-5 he 
was Plenipotentiary of the United States at the Berlin Conference, and 
signed, Feb. 26th, 1885, with his colleague, Minister Kasson, the Act 
G^n^rale, opening up the Congo region to our commerce and mission- 
aries. A year later he dispatched to the Congo from Brussels the "San- 
ford Exploring Expedition" for scientific and commercial discovery and 
information. This became, in 1888, in Brussels, a large stock company, 
with seven steamers and ten stations. It was one of the disappointments 
of Mr. Sanford's life that he could not interest American capital in this 
enterprise. In February, 1891, he sailed for America to look after his 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 2 70 

business interests there, being 'then in 111 health, and died at the White 
Sulphur Springs, Va., May 21, 1891. 

Mr. Sanford married, Sept. 21, 1864, in Paris, France, Miss Gertrude 
Ellen du Puy, of Philadelphia, Pa. Their children were: Henry Shelton, 
Gertrude Ellen du Puy, Frida Dolores, Ethel, Helen Carola Nancy, Leo- 
pold Curtis, and Ebvyn Emeline Willimine Gladys McKinnon. 

Oliver Sanford, son of Ephraim, married, in April, 1767, Rachel, 
daughter of Deacon David Coley, of Weston. Their children were: 
Mary, baptized July 31st, 1768; David, August 20th, 1769; Ephraim, 
September rsth, 1771 ; Abigail, May 29th, 1774; Enoch A., April 28th, 
1776; Levi, December 14th, 1777; Oliver C., Abigail, Mary, Betsey, and 
Lorraine. 

SMITH. 

Anna, daughter of Samuel Smith, of Redding, was baptized July 6th, 
1740 ; and Seth Samuel, son of Samuel and Lydia Smith, September 28th, 
1760. The latter was the first lawyer who located in Redding. He had 
an office in the Centre, -where also 'he kept a select sdhool. He was town 
clerk for a term of years, and wrote a most elegant hand, as will be re- 
membered by those familiar with the records of his times. He also filled 

many other important positions in the town. He married Hulda^h . 

Their children were: Zalmon, baptized February 3d, 1780; and probably 
others. 

STOWE. 

Robert Stow, the first of the name in Redding, settled in Lonetown, 
on the farm now owned by Albert Bartram. He married Anne 
Darrow, January 26th, 1775. Their children were: Daniel, born July 
4th, 1779; Abigail, born April nth. 1776, married Israel Adams; Sarah, 
born October 4th, 1777; Sarah, born August nth, 1781 ; Sumner, bom 
September 17th, 1783; Huldah. born February 6th, 1787; married An- 
drew Andrus, of Danbury ; Abraham, born March 4th, 1792 ; Polly, bom 
September 20th, 1794, married Moses Parsons of Newtown. Robert 
Stow died November 5th, 1795. Daniel Stow married Lucy Hoyt, of 
Bethel, and settled in Redding, near his father. His children were : Rob- 
ert, Almira, Sarah, Harriet, Lucy, Sumner, Mary, and Polly. Abraham 
settled in Bethel. Sumner died when a young man. 

STRONG. 

For the following notes of the descendants of the Rev. William L. 
Strong, I am indebted to his grandchild. Miss May D. Strong, of Pitts- 
ton, Pa. 

My gnandfather had eleven children, who grew to years of maturity, 
and ail married. The eldest. Judge William Strong, born 1808, gradu- 



2 So HISTORY OF REDDING. 

ated at Yale 1828; afterwards a lawyer in Reading, Pa., a member of 
Congress, a judge of the Supreme Court of Penn., and, in 1870, made 
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, He had seven chil- 
dren, only three of whom survive him ; one married and two single daugh- 
ters ; he has one grandson, however, who bears his own name, of WilHam 
Strong. 

The second son, Newton Deming Strong, graduated at Yale in 1831; 
became a lawyer in St. Louis, married there, and died there in 1866, leav- 
ing no children. 

The third son, Edward, born 1813, graduated at Yale 1838; became 
a Congregational minister, was settled in New Haven, Pittsfield, and Bos- 
ton; died in 1898, leaving two sons and one daughter. 

The fourth child, Harriet, married Frederic Pratt, of Fayetteville, N. 
Y, She died without children in 1864, aged fifty-three. 

Fifth child, Mary, born 1815, married Rev. Robert Wilson, a Presby- 
terian minister ; she still Hves, a widow, at the age of ninety, and all her 
three children survive. 

The sixth child, Elizabeth, married Henry H. Cooley, a merchant of 
Auburn, N. Y. She died at the age of seventy-five. One son alone of 
three children survive her. 

Seventh child, Theodore, born 1820, educated for Yale, like his 
brothers, but prevented from ma'triculaJting by failing sight ; entered a 
business life, and served as President of the First National Bank of 
Pittston, for forty-one years, having but recently resigned. He still lives 
at the age of eighty-six ; also five of his eight children survive. 

The eighth child, Samuel, graduated at Yale in 1843 5 became a Con- 
gregational minister ; was settled during a short pastorate in Springfield, 
Mass. He left that profession because of failing health, and studied law, 
but died in 1856, aged thirty-four. 

Ninth child, Abigail, married Nelson H. Gaston, of New Haven, w^ho 
died after six years. She still lives, aged eighty-two; also one of her 
three children. 

Tenth child, Julia, married Rev. Henry Darling, a Presbyterian min- 
ister; afterwards President of Hamilton College; died, aged twenty-five, 
without children. 

Eleventh child, Helen, married John Loveland, a merchant of Pitts- 
ton, Penn. She died in 1886, aged fifty-six years, survived by but one of 
her four sons. 

Other settlers in the town at an early date, but who do not appear to 
have been permanent residents, were : Daniel Bradley, Thomas Williams, 
Thomas and William Squire (of Fairfield), Ebenezer Ferry, George Cow- 
den, Nathaniel Booth, Edmund Sherman, Jonathan Squire, John Whit- 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 28 1 

lock, John Truesdale, Frederick Dikeman, and John Nott. The families 
of Byington, Chapman, Hamilton, Knapp, Osborne, Dennison, Bennett, 
St. John, Gilbert, Johnson, Abbott, Duncomb, Edwards, Olmstead, Rider, 
Treadwell, and Todd figure in the later records of the town. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



APPENDIX I. 



283 



Representatives to the Legislature. 

October, 1767. Col. John Read. 

May, 1768. None. 

October, 1768. Capt. Stephen Mead. 

May, 1769. Col. John Read, Capt. Henry Lyon. 

October, 1769. Capt. Henry Lyon. 

May, 1770. Capt. Stephen Mead, Mr. Lemuel Sanford. 

October, 1770. Col. John Read, Mr. Lemuel Sanford. 

May, 1771. Col. John Read, Mr. Lemuel Sanford. 

October, 1771. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford. 

May, 1772, Col. John Read, Mr. Hezekiah Sanford. 

October, 1772. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford. 

May, 1773. Col. John Read, Mr. Hezekiah Sanford. 

October, 1773. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. James Rogers. 

May, 1774. Mr. William Hawley, Mr. Peter Fairdhild. 

October, 1774. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. William Hawley. 

May, 1775. Mr. William Hawley. 

October, 1775. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. William Hawler 

May, 1776. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. Seth Sanford. 

October, 1776. Mr. Samuel Sanford, Jr., Mr. Stephen Betts, Jr., 

May, 1777. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. Daniel Sanford. 

October, 1777. None attended. 

January, 1778. Mr. Seth Sanford. 

February, 1778. Mr. Lemuel Sanford. 

May, 1778. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. William Heron. 

October, 1778. Mr. Lemuel Sanford. 

May, 1779. Mr. Seth Sanford. 

Octobei, 1779. Mr. William Hawley, Mr. William Heron. 

May, 1780. Mr. William Hawley, Mr. William Heron. 

October, 1780. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. Seth Sanford. 

Ma>, 1781. Unrecorded. 

October, 1781. Capt. William Hawley. 

Mdv, 1782. Mr. Stephen Betts. 

October, 1782. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. Stephen Betts. 

May, 1783. Mr. Stephen Betts, Mr. Thaddeus Benedict. 

October, 1783. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. Stephen Betts. 



.284 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 



May, 1784. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. Thaddeus Benedict. 
October, 1784. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. William Heron. 
Zvlay, 1785.. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. William Heron. 
October, 1785. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. William Heron. 
May, 1786. Mr. William Hawley. 

October, 1786. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. William Heron. 
May, 1787. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. William Heron. 
C ctober, 1787. Mr. William Heron. 
May, 1788. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. William Heron. 
October, 1788. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. William Heron. 
May, 1789. Mr. William Heron. 

October, 1789. Mr. Lemuel Sanford, Mr. William Heron. 
May, 1790. Mr. Thaddeus Benedict, Mr. William Heron. 
October, 1790. Mr. Thaddeus Benedict, Mr. Andrew L. Hill. 
May, 1791. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. Andrew L. Hill. 
October, 1791. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. Andrew L. Hill. 
May, 1792. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. Andrew L. Hill. 
October, 1792. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. Aaron Barlow. 
Alay, 1793. ^^r. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. Andrew L. Hill. 
October, 1793. Mr. Hezekiah Sanford, Mr. Simeon Munger. 
May, 1794. Mr. Thaddeus Benedict, Mr. Aaron Barlow. 
October, 1794. Mr. Thaddeus Benedict, Mr. Aaron Barlow. 
May, 1795. Mr. Thaddeus Benedict, Mr. Aaron Barlow. 
October, 1795. Mr. William Heron, Mr. Andrew L. Hill. 
May, 1796. Mr. William Heron, Mr. James Rogers. 
October, 1796. Mr. William Heron, Mr. James Rogers. 
May, 1797. Mr. Simeon Munger, Mr. Seth Samuel Smith. 
October, 1797. Mr. Simeon Munger, Mr. Seth Samuel Smith. 
May, 1798. Mr. Simeon Munger, Mr. Seth Samuel Smith. 
May, 1799. Mr. Simeon Munger, Mr. Stephen Jackson. 
October, 1799. Mr. Simeon Munger, Mr. Stephen Jackson. 
May, 1800. Mr. Simeon Munger, Mr. Seth Samuel Smith. 
October, 1800. Mr. Andrew L. Hill, Mr. Stephen Jackson. 
May, 1801. Mr. Andrew L. Hill, Mr. Stephen Jackson. 
October, 1801. Mr. Simeon Munger, Mr. Peter Sanford. 
May, 1802. Mr. S. Samuel Smith, Mr. Andrew L. Hill. 
October, 1802. Mr. Aaron Sanford, Mr. Joshua King. 
May, 1803. Mr. Seth S. Smith, Mr. Andrew L. Hill. 
October, 1803. Mr. Seth S. Smith, Mr. Andrew L. Hill. 
May, 1804. Mr. Seth S. Smith. 

October, 1804. Mr. Simeon Munger, Mr. Peter Sanford. 
May, 1805. Seth Samuel Smith, Andrew L. Hill. 
October, 1805. Simeon Munger, Peter Sanford. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 

May, 1806. Andrew L. Hill, Simeon Hunger. 
October, 1806. Andrew L. Hill, Simeon IMunger, 
May, 1807. Andrew L. Hill, Simeon Munger, 
October, 1807. Seth Samuel Smith, Lemuel Sanford. 
May, 1808. Andrew L. Hill, Lemuel Sanford. 
October, 1808. Lemuel Sanford, Simeon ]\lunger. 
May, 1809. Andrew L. Hill, Lemuel Sanford. 
October, 1809. Andrew L. Hill, Lemuel Sanford. 
May, 1 8 10. Andrev/ L. Hill, Lemuel Sanford. 
October, 1810. Andrew L. Hill, Lemuel Sanford. 
May, 181 1. Samuel Whiting, Peter Sanford. 
October, 181 1. Andrew L. Hill, Samuel Whiting. 
May, 1812. Andrew L. Hill, Lemuel Sanford. 
October, 1812. Andrew L. Hill, Lemuel Sanford. 
May, 1813. Lemuel Sanford, Samuel Whiting. 
October, 1813. Lemuel Sanford, Samuel Whiting. 
May, 1814. Lemuel Sanford, Samuel Whiting. 
October, 18 14. John Meeker, Lemuel Sanford. 
May, 181 5. Jonathan R. Sanford, Samuel Whiting. 
October, 1815. Simeon Munger, Hezekiah Read, Jr. 
May, 1816. Isaac Beach, Hezekiah Read, Jr. 
October, 1816. Samuel Whiting, Hezekiah Read, Jr. 
May, 1817. Isaac Beach, Benjamin Meeker. 
October, 1817. Jonathan Meeker, John R. Hill. 
May, 1818. Billy Comstock, Aaron Sanford, Jr. 
October, 1818. William Sanford, John Meeker. 
May, 1819. Billy Comstock, Hezekiah Read, Jr. 

1820. Isaac Coley, Jonathan R. Sanford. 

1 82 1. Daniel Barlow, Seth Wheeler. 

1822. Billy Comstock, John R. Hill. 

1823. John R. Hill, Aaron Sanford, Jr. 

1824. Ephraim Sanford, Rowland Fanton. 

1825. Benjamin Meeker, William Sanford. 

1826. Joel Merchant, Michael, Jennings. 

1827. Thomas B. Fanton, Gershom Sherwood. 

1828. John M. Heron, William Sanford. 

1829. Aaron Sanford, Daniel Barlow. 

1830. Gershom Sherwood, Gurdon Bartram. 

1831. Jonathan R. Sanford, Jared Olmstead. 

1832. Ralph Sanford, Walker Bates. 

1833. Jacob Wanzer, Thaddeus B. Read. 

1834. Thomas B. Fanton, Bradley Hill. 

1835. Thomas B. Fanton, Walker Bates. 



285 



286 History of redding. 

1836. Ralph Sanford, Burr Meeker. 

1837. Timothy Parsons, Jesse Banks. 

1838. Thomas B. Fanton, Aaron Perry. 

1839. Thomas B. Fanton, Benjamm Meeker. 

1840. Walker Bates, David S. Duncomb. 

1841. Thaddeus M. Abbott, Morris Hill. 

1842. Hezekiah Davis, John W. Sanford. 

1843. Edward Starr, Jr., Barney Bartram. 

1844. Charles Beadh, Oharks D. Smith. 

1845. Peter S. Coley, Aaron R. Bartram. 

1846. James Sanford, Harry Meeker. 

1847. Bradley Hill, Samuel S. Osborn. 

1848. Burr Bennett, Floyd Tucker. 

1849. Daniel C. Rider, Henry Couch. 

1850. Matthew Greg'ory, Rufus Mead. 

185 1. Milo Lee, Frederick D. Dimon. 

1852. Aaron Burr, Aaron B. Hull. 

1853. Ebenezer Wilsion, Turney Sanford. 

1854. Jonathan R. Sanford, Walker Bates. 

1855. Cortez Merc-hant, Gurdon B. Lee. 

1856. Thomas Sanford, Milo Lee. 

1857. John O. St. John, David B. Sanford. 

1858. James Sanford, Benjamin S. Boug'hton'. 

1859. 'John Edmond, Matthew Greg^ory. 
i860. Jacob Shaw, Daniel S. Sanford. 

1861. Edmund T. Dudley, Matthew Gregory. 

1862. Walker Bate's, George Osborn. 

1863. John Edmond, David H. Mead. 

1864. Walker Bates, Aaron Treadwell. 

1865. Tihomas B. Fanton, William Hill. 

1866. Charles Osborne, Edward P. Shaw. 

1867. David S. Johnson, William B. Hill. 

1868. Francis A. Sanford, B. S. Boug'hton. 

1869. Aaron H. Davis, William H. Hill. 

1870. Jdhn S. Sanford, J. R. Sanford. 

1871. E. F. Foster, Luzon JelHfif. 

1872. Henry S. Osborn, Arthur B. Hill. 

1873. Stebbins Baxter, Moses Hill. 

1874. J. R. Sanford, Edward P. Shaw. 

1875. Turney Sanford, Henry Burr Piatt. 

1876. James Sanford, Orrin Piatt. 

1877. Thomas Sanford, George F. Banks. 

1878. Azariah E. Meeker, Daniel Sanford. 

1879. Harvey B. Rumsey, George Coley. 



HISTORY OF REDDING. 28? 

1880. David S. Bartram, Azariah Meeker. 

1881. David H. Miller, William F. Mandeville. 

1882. Thomas Sanford, Ebenezer F. Foster. 

1883. James E. Miller, Charles Porter. 

1884. Jesse L. Sanford, Eli Osborn. 

1885. John N. Nickerson, Uriaih S. Griffin. 

1886. 'Michael Connery, William C. Sanford. 

1887. Samuel B. Gorham, David E. Smith. 
1889. Seth Sanford, James E. Miller. 

189 1. Edwin Gilbert, William H. Hill. 

1893. William F. Mandeville, Henry S. Osborn. 

1897. Henry S. Osborn, Nathan Perry. 

1899. Albert A. Gorfiam, John Todd. 

1901. William H. Hill, Aaron H. Davis. 

1903. John Todd, Aaron H. Davis. 

1905. William E. Hazen, William H. Hill. 

Redding was made a Probate District in 1839, The successive 
Judges of Probate have been: Thomas B. Fanton, Jonathan R. Sanford, 
Thaddeus M. Abbott, Lemuel Sanford, Edward P. Shaw, and John Nick- 
erson, the present incumbent. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Abbott, Elijah 216 

Frank F 84, 171, 186 

Thaddeus M 29, 92, 125, 171 

Adams, Aaron 215 

Abigail 211 

Abraham 64, 194, 213, 216 

Ani 211 

Deborah 213, 220 

Eli 218 

Elizabeth 193 

Ellen 210 

Henry 49 

Hezeiciah 64, 210 

Israel 214 

James T], 106 

Joseph 213 

Molle 210 

Nathan 14, 217 

Salle 210 

Sarah 195, 215 

Stephen 64, 208 

Rev. Wm. H 116 

Agnew, Gen 29, 31 

Albin, Charles 144, 145 

Sylvester 146 

Thomas 80 

Allen, Widow 221 

Ambler, Rev. John L 122 

Samuel S 49 

S. S 117 

Amery, Rev. A. J 1 16 

Ammerman, Rev. O. V 113 

Andrews, Eunice 196 

Francis 64. 198 

Jonathan 64 

Molle 195 

Seth 64, 109 

Ebenezer 22 

Sarah 215 

Stephen 197 

Angevine, Anthony 195 

Applegate, Benj 12 

Isaac 12 

John 12 

Robert 12 

Armstrong, Rev. Wm. P ti6 

Arnold, Gen. B 30, 32 

Asbury, Bishop 109 

Aston, Rev. Henry 114 

Atwill, Rev. William 106 

Bailey, Thomas 14 

Baker, Thankful 206 

Baldwin, Abraham 55 

Rev. Burr 91 



PAGE 

Ruth 149 

Banks, Edward 144 

George W 143 

Jesse 108, no, 126, 196, 211 

Hint 210 

Joanna 195, 212, 220 

Joseph 88, 92, 96 

Mabel 218, 221 

Mary 215 

Philena 198 

Sarah 196 

Seth ^^, 196 

Wesley 143 

Bangs, Nathan Rev 116 

Barber, Bartholomew 64 

Barlow, Aaron Col.. .55, 64, 125, 149, 197 

Bette 217 

Daniel 219 

Elnathan 214, 215, 221 

Ephraim 34 

Gershom 33 

Joel 55, 64, 89, 146, 158 

Nathaniel 25, ^^ 

Ruhamah 195 

Samuel 64, 216 

Stephen 218 

Thomas 147 

Barnes, Rev. S 116 

Barnett, A. G 183 

Barr, James T 143 

Bartlett, Abigail 217 

Anne 207 

Rev. Charles 115 

Daniel C 65, 198, 206 

David 150 

Eunice 208 

Flora 218 

Rev. Jonathan. ..yj, 90, 107, 124, 210 

Lucretia 211 

Rev. Nathaniel. .9, 37, 42, 45, 54, 88, 
90, 134, 146, 194. 

Russell 25, 65, 205 

Bartram. Aaron 126 

Anne 214, 217 

Charity 207 

Daniel 65. 108, 197 

David 195, 220 

David S 143. I45 

Eli 211 

Rllenor 215, 218 

Esther 212 

Ezekiel 108, 213 

Gurdon 216 

Hon. T. N 45, 46. 47. 48. 40 



290 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Isaac 65, 181, 203, 207 

Isaac H 176 

Jabez 207 

John 195 

Joseph 207, 216, 219 

Mabel 206 

Mary 198, 207 

Paul 21, TJ, 108, 195, 214 

Rene 218 

Ruth 45, 199, 209, 212, 220 

Sarah 196, 208 

Bates, Aaron 214 

Charles H 144 

Elias 208, 214, 220 

Esther 211 

Ezra 65, 20s, 207, 219 

Henry W 144 

John 208 

Justus 65, 197, 203, 213 

Martha 217 

Mary ic^, 205 

Nathan 212 

Ruth 198, 206 

Sarah 204, 210 

Seth P 145 

Slauson 217 

Smith 144 

Walker 128, 139, 207 

Waterman 137, 143 

^Batterson, Beth 217 

Hezekiah 196, 209 

Jemima 199 

Jeremiah 65, 198 

Mary 210 

"Baxter, Austin 198 

Samuel B 142 

Beach, Charles 78, 104 

David, Rev ii, 112 

Ebenezer 166 

Isaac 135 

Rev. John 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 31, 78-9, 

94, 105, "3 

Lazarus "j"], 80 

Rebecca D 166 

Rob., Rev 116 

Rev. S 113 

Rev. T. C 114 

Beardsley, Ebenezer 166 

Bearslee, Jim 'J^ 

Beers, Seth P 137 

Belden, Rev. David 105 

Belding, Moses 65 

Belknap, Jesse 45, 198 

Bedient, Lewis 142 

Benedict, Billie 217 

Fred 187 

Hiram 218 

Jesse 198 

Lem'l B 144 

Michael 19S 

Samuel W 217 

Sarah 216 

Thaddeus. .23, 24, 28, 79, 82, 125, 108 
Thos 87 



PAGE 

Bennett, Daniel 65 

E. G 121 

Hubbell 196 

John H 141 

Shubael -j-j 

Sturges 120, 121, 128, 1^9, 168 

Thaddeus M 139 

Betts, Abigail 195 

Daniel 216 

Enoch 198 

Jonathan 145 

Martha 195 

Mary 194 

Ruth 195, 219 

Sarah 196, 218 

Stephen. .19, 25-6, 29, 31, 61, 66, ^^, 
92, 125, 194 

Stephen, Jr 23-24 

Bigelow, Thos 142 

Birdsall, Peter W 144 

Bissell, Daniel 61 

Bixby, Abigail 220 

Ellen 197 

Elias 24, 66, 205 

Mabel 197 

Blackman, J. L 149 

Blanchard, O. H 49 

Bloodgood, Rev. John 108-12 

Bontecue, Rev. J. C 113 

Booth Abner 202, 220 

D- B 35 

Hezekiah 195 

Solomon 201 

Bosely, Rev. Wm. N 122 

Bostwick, Rev. Wm. L 106 

Boutell, Clare 216 

Bowen, Rev. Josiah 113 

Rev. Wm 117 

Boyd, Rev. John 113 

Bradley, Abigail 203 

Burton 124 

Daniel 85, 193 

Elisha 125 

Esther 199 

Eunice 200 

Ezekiel 200 

James 193, 201 

Jonathan 197 

Joseph 18 

Mary 204 

Nathan 202, 219 

Peter 131 

Stephen 199 

Mrs. Thankful 33 

William 197 

Brambler, Rev. J. W 1 16 

Bray, Rev. E. L 114 

Stephen S 117 

Brewer, Rev. Aaron 122 

Briggs, Rev. Chas 187-8 

Brinsmade, Daniel E 166 

Helen J 166 

Bronson, Rev. W. W 105, 106 

Brothweli, Benj 66 



INDEX. 



291 



PAGE 

Wm. E 146 

Brown, Daniel 93 

Rev. David 112 

Rev. Paul K 113 

Wm. F 144 

Bryant, Alex I95 

Elizabeth I95 

Buckley, Charity 195 

Bulkley, Hannah 194, 207 

Hezekiah I97 

Sarah I97 

Burr, Aaron 29, 131, I44 

Abel n, 80, 125 

Abigail 207, 218 

Andrew 12 

Betsey C 221 

Bradley 114 

Comfort 197 

Daniel 194 

David 220 

Elijah 24, 25, 196, 197, 202 

Elizabeth ir, 194, I95. 213, 219 

Ephraim 206 

Esther 195, 199, 202, 217, 221 

Ezekiel 18, 66, 205 

Ezra 200 

Hannah I97, 217 

Henry F I44, 146 

Huldah 196, 203 

Jabez 18, 19, 66, 198, 221 

Jehu 19, 87 

Joel 207 

Maj. John 2 

John, Jr 194 

Joseph IT, 81-2, 214-15 

Katherine I94 

Lemuel 212 

Martha 196, I99 

Martin V. B I44 

Nathan 66 

Peter 5-7. 85, I93 

Phillip 219 

Rebecca I9S. 201 

Rhoda 216-22 

Sarah 25-199 

Stephen. .17, 18, 19, 66, 84, 87, 88, 92, 
122, 125, 193, 195, 206 

Thaddeus 12 

Buehner, Mrs. Edw. J 167 

Bunnell, Isaac 11 

Burchard, Elijah 196 

Burhams, Rev. Dr 94 

Burril, Elizabeth 219 

Isaac 203 

Nathaniel 202 

Noah 201 

Solomon 201 

Burritt, Abijah 201, 218 

Bette 216 

Ebenezer I95 

Mary 201 

Phillip 66, 198 

Rhoda 202 

William 19, I94, 215 



Sybil 202 

Burton, Benjamin 202 

Ruth 202 

Bushnell, Samuel, Rev 113 

Butler, David 10=;, 216 

Joseph F 145 

Mrs. Marcus M 167 

Byington, Aaron 215, 142 

Joel 125, 213 

John 66, 196, 210 

Lucina 210 

Oscar 141 

Reuben 212 

Sarah 217 

Cable, Rufus D 166 

Samuel I95 

Cadwallader, John 50 

Cammeyer, Alfred 187 

Campbell, Rev. Jas 112 

Camp, Rebecca 164 

Candee, Rev. Isaac 112 

Caner, Rev. Henry 94, lOS 

Canfield, Chas. H 137, 146 

Wm. H. 145 

Carter, Ammi I44 

Chamberlain, Rev. Chas 91 

H. R ..142 

Chapel. Russell . 198 

Chapman, Daniel 215 

Fred D I44, I45 

Mary 198 

Chase, Seth I55 

Chatfield, Daniel I99 

Martha 201 

Samuel I99. 200 

Sarah 219 

Chauncey, Eleanor I94 

Robert U 

Chickens i, 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 19, 20 

Cobleigh, Hiram I45 

Coburn, Edward 66 

Cochrane, Rev. Samuel II3 

Cogswell, Rev. Wm 116 

Coleman, Rev. Jas 112, 115 

Obadiah R I44, 146 

Coley, Abigail 213 

Azariah 216 

Daniel I94 

Darius 212, 221 

David 208 

Ebenezer I97 

Elizabeth 209 

Eunice I94, 205 

Ezekiel 214 

Ezra 207 

Gershom 66, 194 

Hannah I97 

Isaac 211 

James 66 

Jesse 207 

Tohn M 145 

Mary 198. 202 



292 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Mollie 205 

Nathan 24, 66, 197, 217 

Ruth 197, 203 

Samuel 194 

Stephen 205 

William 144, 146 

Zalmon 215 

Collins, Wm. F. Rev 114 

Colver, Rev. Nathaniel 118, 137 

Clark, Abigail 201 

Adam 18 

Henry 141 

James 202 

Rev. Laban 113 

Nehemiah, Dr 81 

Rev. R. S 103, 105 

Sarah 201, 204, 219 

Rev. T 113 

Rev. Wm. C 122 

Clapp, G. E 183 

Clemens, Samuel L 182, 184 

Cliff, Rev. Wm 122 

Clinton, Sir Henry 51, 58 

Clugston, Beth 198 

David 207 

Elizabeth 219 

Eunice 220 

John 195, 196, 219 

Mary 218 

Samuel 195 

Clymer, L. John, Rev 116 

Comstock, Billy 27, 126 

Rev. David C 91 

Lydia 198 

Moses 145 

Copley, Daniel 198 

Corcoran, James 145 

Corns, Anna A 199 

Annie E 219 

Elizabeth 201 

George 193 

Sarah 196 

Cornwall, Jesse B 182 

Nathan 142 

Costello, Martin 143 

Cook, Rev. Phineas 113 

Couch, Aaron 214 

Abigail 210 

Abner 212, 221 

Abram 114 

Adra 202 

Adria 195, 205 

. vndrew D 143 

.\nna 209 

Annie 210 

^ Daniel 67, 20T ■ 

, Daniel, Jr 67 - 

Gen. D. N 150 

Ebenezer 19, 22, 24, 78, 88 

Eli_ ; 214 

Elijah (i'j, 20.^ 

Elizabeth 206 

Eunice 215 

Hannah 200 



PAGE 

Jesup 217 

John 203, 117, 208 

Jonathan 21, 24, 195, 198, 218 

Joseph 212 

Levi 2og 

Lucy 208 

Lydia 211 

Mary 213, 221 

Mollie 217 

Rebecca 208 

Samuel, Capt 5, 7. 8, 19, 20 

Sarah 207, 197, 213 

Simon, Capt 16, 18, 92 

Stephen 204 

Theoda 198, 205 

Thomas N 206 

William 214 

Crawford, Rev. John 112, 113 

Wm 131 

Creevy, Geo. C. Rev 114 

Crocker, Rev. Daniel 91 

Rev. George 119 

Crofoot , Daniel ..| 11, 94. 

David ^^ 

Nathan 200 

Stephen 195 

Crofut, David 14 

Rev. Jas. H 116 

Croffut, Wm. A 163 

Crowel, Seth 113 

Curtis, Chandler 117 

Cutler, Timothy 93 

Dann, George L 145 

Darkin, Edw. J. Rev 105 

Darling, Benjamin 198, 200 

Eunice 195, 199 

Gyer ^7 

John 213 

Joseph 202 

Martha 201 

Mary 196, 203, 217 

Sarah 200, 214 

Darrow, Anna 198 

William 45, 199 

Dart, John 164 

Ruth 164 

Dater. Henrv M 182 

Davies, Rev. John 113 

Dr. Thomas 178 

Rev. Thomas F ZT, 90, 125, 162 

179, 180 

Davj«. Aaron H 137, 145 

Benjamin 195 

Daniel 208 

Esther - 213 

Eunice 212 

John 67, 207 

Martha 209 

Millicent 198 

Millison 205 

.Samuel 215 

Sarah 205 

Stephen 210 



INDEX. 



'■93 



PAGE 

Deacon, Edward 183 

Dean, Abigail 205 

Daniel ig, 194 

Esther 205 

Eunice 195, 200, 209 

Hannah 206 

Huldah 207 

John 210 

Lydia 211 

Rachel 206 

Rene 210 

Sarah 205 

DeForest, Ephraim yy, 82, 196 

John W 143 

DeFour, Francis 141 

DeLancey, Oliver 58, 59, 60 

Dennis, Rev. Daniel 112 

Dewey, Rev. Timothy 112 

Dibble, Sarah 197 

I Dickinson, John 96, 114, 113 

Lockwood 67 

Dickson, Alonzo 145 

Dikeman, Aaron 211 

Anna 216 

Anne 203 

Benjamin 208 

Betts 195 

Fred 202 

Hezekiah 207 

John 199, 220 

Joseph 195, 209 

Levi 197 

Peter 212 

Samuel 215 

Zalmon 225 

Dillon, Michael 142 

Dimon, Henry 13 

Moses II 

Diossy, Rev. Richard K 122 

Dixon, James 67 

Doty, Erastus 117 

Downs, Charles H 146 

Drew, Annie 210 

Daniel 209 

Isaac 82 

John 77 

Driggs, Fred 181 

Marshall S 187 

Dudley, Lena 205 

Simon 205 

Dufoy, Jerome 142 

Duncomb, Chas 126 

David Ill 

Dunlap, Rev. M. B 106 

Dunell, Frank i8r 

Dunning, Wm 198 

Durand. Emil 142 

Dymond, Rachel i6zi 

Fames, Rev. Henry 113 

Eastford, Cyrus B 144 

Edmonds, John 114. 139, 140 

Mary 198 

Edwards, William 219 



Emory, Nathan, Rev. . 112 

Evans Rev Edw. R '.W^s, 92 

^. ^hos^^ A ^ ; ^9 

Evarts, Daniel 41; 108 

Elder Elijah ■:::::'':.]^ 

Eldndge, Abel ao"; 

^ Joseph ' " -'DC 

Fly David, Rev //'^ 

Ely Rev. John QO 

Emmitt, Dr. Thos. A " 58 

Erskine. Wm. Sir 20 v 

Ewing. Frank F '.'.'.'. . '183 

Fairchild, Abigail 212 

-^b'iah 202', 196," 198 

Abram 126, 172, 220 

^'■t^w 8, 22, 1 25 

g'lle , 206 

'Janiel 197, 203, 218 221 

S^^!^ ^ ■■■67, 204 

P.f'J s 172 

Ellen 211 

Ezekiel 67, 196, 203 

. John 67 

Fairchild, John. ...125, 197, 209, 215, 217 

Huldah 221 

Tsaac 67, 204 

Mary 203 

Nathan 202 

Peter 21, 23, 196 

Rachel 208 

Rhoda 203 

^^mnd 67,94/205 

-'arah 201. 211, 213 

Stephen 67, 12^;. 206 

Thomas 21, 86, 193 

Timothy 200, 216 

Fanton, Curtis 127 

Henry 127 

Thos. B 28, in, 181 

Wm 144 

Farmer, Rev. S. F. 91 

Fayerweather. Benj 14 

Ferry, Abigail 199. 218 

Ebenezer 18, 202 

John 201 

Sarah 195. 201 

Field, Chas. A 144 

Finch, Dimon 27 

Fitch, Abigail E 216 

Asahel 21, 25, 67, 178 

Clarina 212 

Ellis A 216 

Hannah 212 

Jas. G 2T4 

Martha 218 

Felch. Rev. Nathan 112 

Fleming. Mrs. Sarah 131 

Foster, Rev. Floyd W it6 

Joel 92, 126 

John 141 

Rev. Sylvester 112 

Timothy 67 

Fowler, Rev. Andrew 103 



294 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Franklin, Benj " 

Frost, Betsey ^og 

Daniel ^^3 

Rev. Daniel D 9^ 

Hannah 20« 

Mary ^^ 

Stephen 212 

Gage, Geo ^95 

George, T. M. W 125 

Gibbins, Jas 45- iQo 

Gibson, Ebenezer • Id" 

Gilbert, Benj 120, 128, 129 168 

Burr 206 

Edwin 128, 129, 145, 168 

Eli 124 

Elias, Rev "5 

Giles 45> iqS 

John 207 

Wm. D 145 

Wm. J 129, 168 

Gilder, Jeanette 182, 184 

Rev. John L 114, no 

Jos. B i8S 

Richard W 170, 184 

Rev. Wm. H 114, 170 

Glasgow, Rev. Abram 122 

Glidden, Rev. K. B 91 

Glover, John 94 

Godard, Rev. Louis A 92 

Godfrey, Edward 143 

Geo. M 145 

John L 146 

Gold, Abel 198 

Abigail 195;, 202 

Elizabeth 198, 207 

Esther 196, 20.^ 

Grace 2l8 

Hannah 204 

Hezekiah 206 

John 12 

Mary 197, 204 

Nathan 4, 5. 7, 12 

Samuel 34, 67, 198 

Sarah 196 

Stephen 24. 202 

Thomas I94 

Goodale, Dora R 186 

Mrs. Dora R 186 

Gould, Daniel 126, 136 

Geo. W 141, 144, 145 

Gore, Jona 41 

Gorham. Anne 198 

Chas 114 

Dr. Chas 179 

Hannah 197 

Isaac 208 

Tabez 108 

Neheminh 152 

Samuel B 46, 48 

Grav. Arsena 21Q 

Hannnh .^ 202, 208 

Huldah 208 



PAGE 

Elijah 214 

Eliphalet 220 

Eunice 205, 207, 219 

Jacob 205 

Jas 18, 25, 77, 195. IQO, 202 

Jerry 210 

Joel 125, 209 

John 24, 26, 68, 79, 195, 213, 219 

Joseph 204 

Mary 194, 219 

Nathaniel 219 

Obadiah 201 

Samuel S I44 

Sarah 194, 196, 209 

Stephen 125, 195, 203, 212 

Gregory, Chas. A I44, 146 

Dudley S 178 

Jabez 68 

Isaac 198 

Griswold, Rev. E. W 122 

Grumman. Francis H I42 

Wm. E 63, 186 

Griffin, Aaron 207 

Abigail 208 

Esther 213 

Eunice 195, 200, 216 

Hannah 217 

Huldah 209 

John 86, 193, 195, 212 

Jonathan 203 

Joseph 68, 196 

Mollie 211 

Morris 68 

Sarah 194, 200, 208 

Solomon 206 

Uriah 33, "5 

Griffith, Hepsibah I95 

Samuel 209 

Green, Geo 143 

Jos 215 

Jonah 215 

Mary 204 

Guyer, Eunice 216 

John D 197 

Ruth 198 

Gyer, John 77 

Joseph 77 

Nathaniel 77 

Hall, Abigail 19, 57 

Anna 193 

Asa II, 14 

Benajah ll 

Burgess 14, 196 

Deuorah 45, 198 

Elizabeth 99 

Esther 196 

Eunice 45, ig8 

Francis 14 

Isaac 14, 219 

Joanna 194 

John 14 

John H 145 

Joshua 77, 94 



INDEX. 



295 



PAGE 

Mabel 200 

Millison 190 

Samuel 14 

Hambletpn, Amelia 200 

Benj 11^ jg4^ 200 

Esther, Mrs 193, igg 

Hannah 107, 205 

Isaac ig8, 205 

Seth igg^ 208, 220 

Tabitha 206, 21Q 

William igg 

Hamilton, Rev. A 106 

Benj 21 

Esther 86 

Isaac, Capt 39 

William 142 

Harney, Martha 4 

Harris, Henry D 142 

Rev. Reuben 112 

Haupfh, Rev. J. S 1 14 

Eunice 197, 204 

Ezekie] 197 

Hezekiah 213 

John 195 

Hawley, Hannah 220 

Joseph 18, 19, 1.14, 208. 221 

Lemuel 215, 92 

Mary 195, 201 

Mollie 210 

Ruth 203, 196 

Samuel TJ, 202 

Sarah 194 

Tabitha 194 

Wm 23, 24, 26, 68, 79, 210, 220 

Mrs. Wm 107 

Hawse, Prince 77 

Hazen, Moses, Col 49 

Henderson, Rev. Samuel 122 

Hendrick. Josiah 68 

Mary 45, 198 

Hendrix. Obed 68, TJ 

Heppin, John 194 

Heron, John M 104 

Wm 23, 2^, 28, 31, 51, 58, 59, 60, 

61, 62. (i% 79, 125, 131, 137 

Herrick, Rev. W. D 91 

Hibbard, Billv, Rev 112 

Rev. E. S 114 

Hickok, Clarence T 49 

Hide, John ll 

Hill, Aaron S 112, 127, 180 

Albert B I75 

Andrew L 27, 135 

Ann 197 

Arthur B 125 

Daniel 21, 123 

Ebenezer 02 

Ebenezer J 161 

Eben 120, 138 

Ezekiel 25, "jy 

John L 127 

John R 28, -09, no, III, 127 



Hannah 194 

Rev. Jos 180 

Mabel 214, 221 

Margery 164 

Rev. Morris 113, 180 

Moses 127, 180 

Peter 142 

Bille 211 

Rebecca 197 

Thomas 6, 11 

Wm. II, 12, 14, 127, 49', 94 

Wm. S 183 

Rev. Wm. T m, 112, 114, 180 

Hillard, Isaac 68, 132 

Thurston ' 68 

Wm '.■;;;; g^ 

Hilton, Daniel 3 

Hoch, Robert \\ 142 

Hoffman, W. John ".!!.'!! 106 

Hoggson, Noble .\^i 

Hollis, Rev. George 114 

Holiister, Gideon H ...!i6i 

Holman, Henrv ' 145 

Honeyman, John 62 

Rev. Joshua 98 

Hopkins, Francis 221 

Henry ...69, 197 

Huldah 2x5 

Jabez *!'.!;!!!2i4 

,, Mary 214 

Home, Rev. J. W 114 

Hovt. Henry 217 

Rev. Phillip Y ...!.!.!'.!!!ii3 

Thomas % 

Wm ::::;::::: 69 

Hubbard, Rev. Reuben loc 

Hubbell, Richard !'.".!".!.' 3 

Hudson, Dr. Erasmus 137 

Rev. Joshua 122 

Hull. Abigail. .194, 199, 206, 216, 2i7,'220 

Abraham 208 

Rev. Ambrose 105 

Ann 217, 

Cornelius xx 

Daniel 21, 194, 21a 

David 208, 200 

Deborah 218 

Ebenezer n, 16, 86, 19V, 195 

Elizabeth 218, 219 

Ellen 209 

Esther. ..195, 200, 209, 211, 219, 220 

Eunice 206, 209 

Ezekiel 210. 211, 220 

Ezra 69, 206 

George. ..II, 16, 83, 85, 14^ ig^ 220 

Hannah 198, 208 

Hezekiah 204, 212 

Huldah 206 

Isaac 86, 193 

Isaiah 14 

James 69, 136 

John 16, 17, 69, T22, 195, 207 

Joshua .\ . 14 

Rev. Justus 180. 205 



296 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Rev. Lemuel B 104, 106, 180 

Lydia i93, 212 

Mary 219 

Martha 196, 204 

Nathaniel I94, 206 

Nehemiah 24, 25, 69, 196, 202 

Noah 196 

Peter 212, 207 

Rebecca ^99 

Samuel 210 

Sarah i97. -205. 207 

Seth 11, 205, 199 

Theophilus 84, 85, 92, i93, I95 

Zalmon 69, 207 

Humphrey. David 41. 49. 55 

Humphreys, Rev. H 1 1 1 

Hunn, Rev. Nathaniel 16, 85, 86, 193 

Ruth 220 

Hunt, Aaron 108. 1 12 

Rev. Jesse Ii3 

Huntington, Rev. E. B 9^ 

Rev. Enoch S 9^ 

Jeddiah, Gen 41, 44, 49, 50 

Hurlburt, Daniel 212 

Edmond 129 

Sarah 212 

Jackson Aaron 211 

Anna 213, 214 221 

Daniel I94 

David 21, 23, 24, 25, 195. 197 210 

Ephraim 21. 22, 87, 88. 196, 220 

Esther 216 

Eunice 211 

Ezekiel 125, 209 

Grace 197 

Hezekiah 214 

Joseph, Jr 198 

Martha I97, 217 

Mollie 212 

Moses 215, 218 

Nathan I97 

Peter 213 

Janes, Bishop m 

Jarvis, Samuel 27 

Jacocks, Aradal 211 

Esther 210 

Deliverance 194 

Jemima 201 

Huldah 209 

Jeremiah 208 

Timzeen I94 

Jeanks, Sarah 196 

Jelliff ,Jas. F 144. I45 

Luzon 137 

Jenkins, Calvin 69 

Jennings, Charity 196 

Chas. A 137, 145 

John H 49 

O. B 48, 49 

Morris 143 

Rev. Wm 91 

Jepson, Rev. Wm. H 106 

Jocelyn, Rev. A 112 



PAGE 

Johnson, Cato I4S 

David S I40 

Catherine 195 

Joseph 219 

Samuel 93, 94 

Sarah I94 

Wm. H. Rev 122 

Jones, Edward 35, 3^ 

Elizabeth Miss 158 

Lorenzo 146 

Wm. P 131 

Jordan, Rev. Frank F 116 

■jiidd. Horace Q., Rev II4 

Phillip 14 

Judson. Agur 166 

Charlotte A 167 

Medora H 166 

Rebecca 166 

Wm. A 166 

Juno, John 196 

Kanhey, Rev. Zeber T 12 

Kelley. Chas., Rev 106 

Kent, Rev. Elisha 84 

Keyes, Hannah I94 

Knaop. Andrew 11, I97 

Benj 108 

David 18, 25, 11 

Jane 196 

Jonathan 11 

Moses II, 14, 16, 94 

Ruth 194 

Sarah 197 

Kniffin, Rev. Wm. C 91 

Lacy, Stephen Vl 

Lane, Sarah I97 

Lascombe, Thos 117 

Lauzun, Duke de 45 

Law, Rev. Sidney G 85, 91 

Law, David 202 

Elizabeth 203 

Layne, John 11 

Lee, Abigail 203, 219 

Abijah 203 

Allen 19 

Ann 196 

Cloe 213 

Daniel 202 

Enos 25, 11, 80, 198 

Eunice 218 

Hannah 201 

Henry H 144 

John 11, 117, 219 

John H 92 

Jesse 106, 108 

Sergt. Joseph 86, 122 

Lydia 195 

Mary 194, 202 

Milo 126 

Nathan 80 

Noah 13, 215 

Rebecca 194 

Sarah 194 



INDEX. 



297 



Seth 205 

Silas 197 

William ^^, 204 

Lees, Joseph 17 

Leeds, Rev. Robert 112 

Lent, Rev. Merwin 122 

Lion, Benjamin 86 

Daniel 17, 122 

Mary 86 

Matthew 17 

Nathan 122 

Lines, John 45, 69, 198 

Rebecca I97 

Little, William 45, 198 

David 69 

Lobdell, James I45 

Lockwood, Burr I43 

Chas 144 

John 143 

Joseph R 145 

Lambert 3' 

Mary 196 

Louderback, Alfred, Rev 106 

Lovejoy. Rev. John Ii3 

Lover, George 143 

Lovett. Josiah 204 

Luis, Edward 83, 84 

Luther, Rev. Clare L 93 

Lyon. Abigail 2? 

Alanson 126 

Beniamin ^93 

Bethel I99 

Daniel 1 1, 25, -JT, 84, 85, 193 

David 21, 23. 195 

Eli n, 125, 174 

Elnathan 196 

Eunice ^94 

Rev. Gilbert "3 

Henry, Capt 22 

Hnldah 197 

Jabez n 

Jacob 196 

John 11, 82, 200 

Jonathan 112, 201 

Joseph 82, 195, 197 

Mary I93 

Nathan ", 94 

Peter 11, 82 

Phebe 2or 

Richard 94, 219 

Richard H I74 

Samuel 200 

Stephen 125 

Timothv I99 

Rev. Zalmon 112 

Mace, Rev. John W "6 

Main. Kzekiel 70 

John M 14.=; 

Samuel A I4=; 

M I2T 

S. S 12 

Mallery, Abigail 206 

Daniel 23, 24, 92, 194, 204 



PAGE 

Daniel, Jr 70 

Deborah 195 

Ebenezer I94 

Elizabeth 200 

Eunice 218 

vjrissel 194 

John 19, 70, 193, 199 

Jonathan 22 

Jonathan, Jr 77 

Joseph 211 

Nathan 205 

Peter 194 

Rebecca 200, 2x8 

Rhoda 196 

Samuel 198 

Sarah 209 

Stephen R i59 

William 217 

Manrow, David n 

Thaddeus "71 

Manton. Rev. Daniel E 9^ 

Marsh. Rev. Truma.n T03, 105 

Marshall. Rev. Jos. D 114 

McCutchen, Rev. Wm 122 

McDougal A. Gen 41, 44, 49, 50 

ATcYe.nl. Seth 216 

McNeil. Charles 77 

Mead. Esther 207 

Ezra 205 

Hannah 206 

John W 145 

Ralnh S 144 

Rufus 92 

Rufus. Jr 141 

Rev. Solomon 87 

Stephen . . 21, 22, 123, 211 

Thaddeus 208 

Urrai 108, 114 

Meeker. Anna; 196 

Azariah E 144, 146, 212 

Benjamin 22, 26, 131, 194, 213 

Burr 34, 139 

Chas. S 146 

Chester T08 

Daniel 18, 194, 200, 213 

David 194. 214 

Elnathan 203 

Ephraim T7 

Esther 205. 217 

Eunice 205, 2T.<; 

Isaac 194. 199, 2X2 

Jared 203 

John 104, 216 

Tonathan 11 

Joseph II. 196, 2x6 

Josiah 206 

Lois 204. 220 

Mabel xo8 

Mollie 214 

Rebecca X94. 204. 213. 22T 

Robert 104 

Sarah I99 

Seth 70. X08 

Seth X25. X07 



298 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Stephen 24, 70, 196 

Witeley 197, 203 

Merchant, Ann 197 

Annie 203 

Benjamin 215 

Chauncey .••125, 197, 204 

Cortez 181 

Eleanor 206 ' 

Enoch r'iZS, 131, 211 

Gurdon. .21, 22, 70, 194, 207, 220, 221 

Hannah 218 

Joel 70, 208 

John 70, 205 

Johnnie 216 

Lemuel 213 

Phebe 38, 45, 209 

Sarah 204 

Silas 108, 131, 210 ' 

Merritt, Ebenezer 70 

Rev. Samuel 112 

Merwin, Almon S 144 

Miller, Rev. Albert 180 

David H 129, 137, 144, 145 

Jas. E 48, 49 

Rev. Jeremiah 91 

Jeremiah R 145 

John 142 

Mills, Rev. Nathaniel 108, 112 

Minor. Thomas 2 

Mix. Rev. Timothy 84. 85 

Monroe, Daniel 70 

Rebecca 197 

William 195 

Moody, Rev. F. M 114 

Morehouse, Aaron 70, 134. 206 

Abel 197 

Abigail 25 

Abner 220 

Anne 196 

Ann 209 

Billy 71, 198, 206, 212 

Daniel 12, 77 

Elizabeth 194 

Elizabeth R 213, 219 

Elijah 71, 202 

Ezra 155, 205 

Gershom 14, 22, 23, 25, 71, 194 

Hannah 201 

Hill 201, 221 

Jane 198, 208 

Joanna 200 

John II 

Lucy 211 

Mary 200 

Olive 218 

Phebe 195, 202 

Polly 215, 216 

Rebecca 194 

Ruth 196, 203 

Sarah 195, 200 

Stephen il, 14, 17, 94, 122 

Tabitha 190 

Zaccheus 77 

Morgan, Abbe 201 



PAGE 

Anne 201 

Chas. 142 

Daniel N 164, 165 

Edward K 167 

Elizabeth S 166 

Ezra 164 

Florence N 166 

Charles 108 

Hezekiah 164, 167 

Isaac 164 

James 18, 25, 77, 197 

Joseph 164 

John 164, 195, 200 

Joseph 71 

Mary H 166 

William 164 

William J 166 

Moriarty, Rev. Peter 1 12 

Mulford, David 64 

Munger, Simeon 27, 77, 124 

Munson, J. O. Rev 114 

Rev. Joseph 116 

Thomas 77' 

Murphy, John 141 

Naseco 1-4 

Nash, Daniel 167 

Rev. David 114 

Eunice 195 

Hannah 164 

John 164 

Regan D 164 

Thomas 6, 7 

Nelson, Theodore 145 

Nichols, Rev. Abel 106 

Andrew B 14 

Cyprian 2, 3 

David 120, 128 

Eli 198, 21.'? 

Hannah 198 

Richard 195 

William 141 

William H 142 

Nickerson, John 13 

Nixon, Gen. John 44, 49, 50 

Northrop, Rev. C. A 121 

Lewis 137, 145 

Nathaniel 196 

Solomon 197 

Norton, Asa 77 

Noyes, John, Rev 119 

Odle, Aaron 108 

Ogden. Abel, Rev 106 

Olmstead, Eleazer 77, 196 

Olmsted, Charles 14S 

Charles 137 

James 38 

Isaac 45, 198 

Samuel 87, 196 

Sarah 196 

Osborne, Aaron 12, 120 

Osborn, Daniel 198 

David 71, IIS 



INDEX. 



299 



PAGE 

Deborah 208 

Elihu 144 

Elizabeth 197 

Ephraim 204 

George 140 

Hannah 19S 

Henry S 92 

H. R 137 

Hezekiah B 145 

Isaac 120 

John 124, 144 

Lois 197 

Sarah 198 

William 220 

Osmun, Rev. Geo. W 116 

Ovsterbanks, David 201 

Paine, Albert B 182. 185 

Franklin 142 

Painter, Rev. John H 122 

Parker, Geo. A 49 

Parsons, Aaron 218 

Abijah 125 

Abraham 71 

Daniel 71 

Hannah 214 

Henry 144 

John 197 

Henry 145 

Rev. John 50 

Margaret 218 

Mary 45, 198 

Sabra 198 

Gen. Samuel. ..43, 44, 49, 50, 58, 59, 
60, 61 

Timothy 33, 71 

Patchen, Andrew 71, ']^ 

Asael ^^ 

Asahel 195 

Ebenezer 72 

Jacob 72 

Martin 72 

Patrick, Minot S 14? 

Pattison, Rev. Jos. W 116 

Pease, Rev. David 119 

Rev. Gersihnm t T.i 

Rev. Hart F T14 

Henry B 145 

Peck, Aaron 143 

Charles S 49 

George W 14 

Lester 182 

Thomas 125 

Penn, William 23 

Perry, Andrew 34 

Daniel 23, 27, 125 

David 103 

Rev. David lO'; 

EH 2t6 

George 25, 26, 72 

Griswold T96 

Isaac 72. 217 

Rev. L. P 114 

Timothy 214 



PAGE 

Person, Ellen 215 

Esther 215 

Jonathan 198 

Peterson, Rev. Geo. W 116 

Phinney, Mabel 196 

Sarah 25 

Pickett, Grace 196 

John -71, 198 

John, Jr 77 

Mary 196 

Nathan 14 

Phebe 198 

Rebecca 196 

Pigot, Rev. George 94 

Piisbury, Rev. B. C 114 

Piatt, Aaron 217 

Abigail 194, 200, 207 

Ann 196 

Betty 215, 217 

Chas. M 142 

Daniel 205 

Elizabeth I95. 201 

Eunice 198, 206 

Griswold 211 

Henrv I44 

Hezekiah 25, ^7, 2Qf^ 

Isaac 72, 7T, 108, 196 

Jesse 218 

John 204 

Jonas 12. 108, 104 

Justus 208 

Luana 210 

Marv 195, 200 

Obadiah 217 

Orville H., Sen 161 

Polle 217 

Robert 213 

Samuel 12, 197 

Sanford J I44 

Sarah 196, 198, 206, 216 

Slawson 210 

Timothy 11 

William 210, 215 

Zebulon 72, 11 

Plummer. David 72 

Plumb. Elijah J.. Rev loq 

Policy, Rev. G. W 116 

Poor, Enoch, Gen 49. 5^ 

Porter, Rev. N. L 114. "6 

Price, Seth 197 

Prince, Martha 196 

Prindle, Tames 196 

Putnam, Gen. Israel... 33, 34. 35- 36, VJ, 
42, 49, 53 

Ramong. Samuel 198 

Raymond, Benj 206 

" EHsha 204 

Tohn n 

Mary A 219 

Phebe 219 

Read. Aaron 92, 131. 211 

Abigail 205 

Ann 216 



300 



INDEX. 



Dr. Annie M i8o 

Daniel 82, 197 

Deborah 198, 206 

Esther 198, 208 

Eli 210 

George 4 

Hezekiah. .24, 25, 198, 199, 204, 217, 
219 

Henry 208 

Huldah 208, 211 

John, 1st.. 3, 4, 5, 8, II, 13. 14, 16, 
17, 18 

John, Col 21, 22, 24, 39, 40 

Col. John, 3rd.. 55, 82, 85. 86, 122, 
127, 193, 204, 210, 219 

John, Jr 131, 194 

Mrs. John I93 

Joseph 212 

Lemuel 213 

Mabel 207 

Marv 206, 194, 197, 214, 219 

Matilda 211, 220 

Samuel 92, 209 

Sarah 206, 217, 221 

Rachel 198, 205 

Ruth 86, 193, 205 

Tabitha 19S 

Talcot 210 

Ulilla 218 

William 194, 207 

Zalmon. .21, 23, 24, 33, 40, 41, 72, 73, 
200 

Reed, Rev. Wm. S n6 

Remington. Rev. Stephen 122 

Remong. Samuel 24, ^2) 

Rescue, Thomas 198 

Rexford, Rev. Elisha 90 

Reynolds, John, Rev 112 

Richards, Samuel 35 

Richardson, Rev. M 113 

Rider, Daniel 140 

Rivington, James 76 

Robbins, Chas 216 

Rphraim 21 25, 73, I97 

John 218 

Mary 214 

Sarah 216 

Stephen 213 

Robinson, Ebenezer 131 

M. F 119 

Robson, Mrs. Geo. A 167 

Rochambean. Count de 45 

Rockwell, Joseph 150 

Thomas 196 

Rogers, Aaron 213 

Abigail 216 

Cloe 211 

Elizabeth 217 

James. 23, 24, 26, 28, 31, 124, 125, 211 

Josiah 209 

Joseph TS 

Uriah 214 

Rolliston, Rev. James 122 

"Ross, Rev. Robert 90 



Rowland, Esther 203 

Hezekiah 194 

Joseph 12 

Mary 45. 198 

Thomas I94 

Rowler, Matthew 194 

Rowling, MoUie 210 

Samuel 196 

Reeds. Rev. M. E 122 

Rulf, Henry 183 

Rumsey, Abagail 197, 204, 208 

Benjamin 12 

Betty 216 

Daniel 203, 218, 220 

David 207 

Eben 211 

Ellen 208 

Ephraim 204 

Esther 209 

Isaac 12, 19s, 217 

Isabel 215 

Hezekiah 206 

Jere IZ, 209 

John 73, 207 

Joseph 195, 219 

Mary 205, 208 

Nathan TZ, 206 

Noah 211 

Rachel 204 

Robert 12 

Ruth 210 

Sarah 196, 197, 215, 220 

Rushton, Mary A 183 

Russell. Eunice 194 

Rev. John 112 

Russica. James 196 

Ryan. Jeremiah 24, TZ 

Ryder. Jas. J I44 

Simon 211 

Saint Maur. Katherine V 186 

Salmon. Col. Asahel Zl^ 73- 125 

Gershom 74 

Lemuel 214, 221 

Simon 214 

Sanford, Aaron... 27, 74. 107, 108, 109, 
T14, 134, 158. 181, 206 

Rev. Aaron K 180 

A. S. Rev 124 

Abel 199 

Abigail.. .193, 194. 195, 202. 215, 218 

Andrew H 141 

Ann 205 

Anna 195, 200, 202 

Rev. A. B 180, 187 

Anne I94 

Augustus 108, 204 

Benjamin 125, 212 

Bradley 126 

Catherine 207 

Cloe 2X1 

Daniel... 31, 123, 124, 126, 13T, 182, 

187, 191, 192, 195, 199, 216, 221 • 
David 74, 126, 201, 212, 2T4 



INDFX. 



301 



Ebenezer 74 209 

Eli 17, 208 

Elias 208 

Elijah ••••212 

Elizabeth -2-2, 164, I94 

Elnathan ••209, 220 

Enoch 126, 215, 216 

Ephraim 126, i97. i99, 213, 220 

Esther. . .202, 203, 205, 212, 215, 219, 

220 

.Eunice 213, 221 

Ezekiel....i2, 25, 74, 125, IQO, I97. 

202, 216, 217 

Ezra 74 

Francis A 125, I39, 181 

Gershom 203 

Q ^ 120 

Hannah ." .' .' .'.'.".'.... I95, 200, 207, 217 

Hawley "4, 180 

Mrs. Helen ig^ 

Henry • • ^^^ 

Hezekiah. .24, 25, 26, 79, 108 134, 208 

Huldah 197, 203, 213, 215 

James 74, 127, I39. 181, 201 

James, Jr ^04 

Mrs. James 79 

Jeremiah 31, 207 

Joel 210 

John 11, 164, 201, 213, 214, 221 

Jonathan B 92 

Jonathan R 109, 181 

Joseph... 17, 18,87,88, 122, 195, 200 

Tulia H o----Q"Q^/f 

Lemuel. .16, 18, 23, 27, 28, 79, 82, 86, 
92, 124, 131, 134, T37, 139, i«^' 
193, 201, 212 

Lemuel, Jr 21, 92 

Levi 2^7 

Lois 195, 202. 215 

Lucv 207 

Lydia ; 200 

Marv 195, 200, 212, 216, 218 

Mollie 213, 215 

Morris H ^4i 

Rev. I^Iorris ^°o 

Mvron R.. Prof ....172, 187 

Nathaniel 86, 193, 200 

Nehemiah ■••209 

Oliver 125, 126, 201 

Peter ^24, 206 

Rachel 199, 204 

Rebecca • ^97 

Rhoda T96, 203, 214 

Ruth 200, 214 

Samuel i7, I9, 202, 213, 220 

Samuel. Jr ^96 

Sarah I94. 199, 203, 212, 217 

Seth 24. 26, 74, 79, I95, I99, 214 

Solomon N •••209 

Stephen ^25, 196, 202 

Sturgis 210 

Tabitha k-o-i?3 

Thomas ", 167, 181, 212 

Timothv 195, 199 



PAGE 

Uriah .' 211 

Walter "4 

William 109, 112, 134, 210 

Zalmon 211 

Zachariah 210 

Sawyer, Rev. F. H 116 

Scott, Rev. Jabez ii4 

Scribner, Aaron O I45 

Charles 120 

Enoch 204 

Seeley, Daniel 198 

Levi 196 

Nehemiah 11, I97 

Nehemiah, Jr 11 

Robert 136 

Seymour, John 11 

Siger. Rev. Fred ii3 

Sellick, Polly 124 

Silliman, Hezekiah 166 

Robert 12 

Sharp, Clement A 48 

Shaw, Edward P 187, 191 

Rev. Jacob 1 14 

Sherman, Edward 194 

Francis F 182 

George ^42 

Capt. John 2 

John L 201 

John M 143 

John 108 

Levi 202 

Vincent 202 

Sherwood, Abigail I94 

Banks ^20 

Gershom 28. m 

Isaac 108 

Jehiel 74 

John IT- 

Mary I90 

Nehemiah 24, 74 

Sarah ^97 

Theodore ^87 

Thomas 74 

Short. Rev. David H 106 

Sloan. Wm ^97 

Molle 217 

Samuel 216 

Tabitha 213 

William 215 

Springer, John 75 

Whala 75 

Smith Ann 20T 

Ann 194 

Rev. Arthur J 180 

Azariah 200 

Charles D 92 

Rev. Daniel ^13 

David E 121, I37, US 

Eleazar 221 

Eleazer, Jr 21 

Elisha 42 

Erastus 74. 207 

Dr. Ernest H ^79, 180 

Eunice - 



302 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Ezra 207 

Rev. Friend W 114 

George E I44 

Hanford 204, 205 

riezekiah IQS 

Rev. James M 112, 113 

Joel 206 

John 12, 36 

Rev. Joseph 114 

Rev. Joseph J 122 

Mary 202 

Nehemiah 194. 217, 221 

Rev. O. H 105, 106 

Phebe 198 

Samuel 23, 115, 193, 206, 207, 219 

Seth Samuel... 24, 28, 108, 124, 125, 
131, 208, 89, 201, 219 

Tabitha 211 

William B 14S 

Zalmon 218 

Snethen, Rev. Nicholas ir2 

St. John, Abigail I95 

Hiram 121, 145 

Jacob B 144 

John 120, 121, 138 

Sarah 198 

Rev. Samuel 121 

Seth 212 

Squires, Benjamin F 141 

Betty 107 

Jane 1Q9 

Samuel 12 

Reuben 19,'^ 

Staples, John 166 

Starr, Abigail 107 

Edward 125 

Capt. Josiah 87 

Micayah 24, 117 

Piatt 216 

Rory 114 

Sarah 218 

Stead, Henry, Rev 113 

Stebbins, Rev. Samuel 90, 116 

Stetson, John 182 

Stillman, Rev. George 115 

Stillwell, Rev. Wm 120, 122 

Stilson, Joseph 195 

Stimson, John W 47, 186 

Stommell, Anton 144, I45 

•Stone, Robert 198 

Sarah 212 

Stow. Abigail 216 

Daniel 218 

Rev. Leroy 180 

Sarah 217 

Walter 214 

Strong, Rev. C. B 121 

Rev. Wm. L 91 

Wm., Judge 163 

Sturges, Abigail 198 

Albert D 145 

Benjamin 14, T7 

David 75 

Ebenezer ^^ 



PAGE 

Elnathan 196, 197 

Henry 136 

Hezekiah 141 

John II 

John R 121 

Jonathan 6, 11 

Rachel 197 

Sarah 196 

Sullivan, Ann 45, 198 

Summerbell, Rev. Jas 122 

Summers, Zachariah 196 

Swan, Rev. Wm. A 106 

Sykes, Rev. Oliver 112 

j 

Talmage, Goyn A 182 

Tammage, Rev. Mr 87 

Tappen, Rev. Chas. DeWitt 91 

'larbell, George - 144 

Ida M i8s 

Taylor, Anna 195 

Daniel 3 

Rev. David 114 

Eunice 214 

Hannah 212, 221 

Isaac 203 

Rev. Joseph P 104, 106 

Rev. Joshua 112 

Preserved 210 

Rhoda 213 

Ruth 212, 221 

Stephen 220 

Thomas 18, 19 

Teets, J. W 181 

Terrell, Elias 214 

'1 hatcher. Rev. Wm 112 

Thomas, C. B 187, 188 

Elizabeth 198 

John H 142 

Rev. Noble II2 

Thompson, Rev. Albert H 121 

E. , 137 

Edward I45 

Mrs. Janet 183 

James 75 

Thorp, Arthur M 141 

Lyman 75 

Mary 196 

Todd, Ambrose S. Rev 105 

Arthur 127 

Chas. B 46, 47, 48 

Chas. J. Rev 106 

John 125, 127 

Sherlock 33, ill, 114 

Tompkins. Rev. Mr 112 

Tierney, David 196 

Timberman, Rev. Jacob 122 

Treadwell, Aaron 33, 45, 47, 48, 125 

Aaron L., Prof 172 

Eben 114 

Edmund I43 

Rev. Piatt 180 

Stephen, Rev 122 

Tamar 194 

True, C. K., Rev lii 



fi D 1 0, 8 



INDEX. 



303 



Truesdale, Betty 207 

Gershom 203 

Hiel 208 

John 204 

Joseph 197 

Justice 205 

Molle 209 

Sarah 204 

Stephen 204 

William 194, 204 

^-Tlnimbull, Gov. J 54, 61 

Tryon, Gov. Wm 29, 30, 31, 32 

Turney, Benj 194 

David Tj 

Mary 214 

Robert, Jr 12 

Turrell, Nathaniel 197 

Underwood, Prof. L. M \?>% 

Vallori, Antoine 142 

Van Dalsen, Rev. H. A 116 

Vaughn, Daniel . . | 41 

Viets, Rev. G. A 114 

Voorhies, Edward I4"5 

Wakeman, Jabez 117 

Dr. Moses 179 

Samuel 12 

Timothy I17 

William 138 

Ward, Abigail 196 

Esther 197, 209 

John 209, 220 

Molle 198, 209 

Rebecca 193 

William 49 

Warren, Francis V 182, 186 

Warrup, Tom 20, 38, 61 

Washburn, Rev. Eben 113 

Washington, Gen. G 43, 50, 53, 61, 62 

Waterbury. Rev. John H 1 19 

Watson, William 142 

Webster. W. K. Rev 114 

Weeks, Micajah 75 

Rev. Smith 112 

Welton, Rev. Alanson 93 

Rev. X. A 106, 125 

Wepoat, Esther 209 

Eunice 209 

Jane 209 

Westcott, Mary 197 

Wetmore, Rev. Izariah 87, 90 

James 93 

Whalen, George 143 

Wheeler, Abigail 215 

Anna 164 

Calvin 196, 201, 211 

Ellen 221 

Enos TJ, 125, 214 

Sphraim 75, 125 

Esther 216 

Hannah 196, 211 

Rev. Henry 116 

Tohn II 



PAGE 

John R 214 

Joseph II 

Lazarus '^'j^ 197 

Mabel 196, 202 

Peter 212 

Ruhamah 209, 212, 220 

Seth 125, 135, 194 

i homas 94 

Wheelock, Henry 144 

Whinkler, Henry 197 

White, Charles 75 

Israel 150 

Samuel 197 

Nicholas, Rev 113 

Whitehead, Lyman 144 

Whiting, Samuel M 104 

Whitlock, Ephraim -j-j 

David 208 

Ebenezer 201 

Hannah 202 

Hezekiah 196, 201 

Isaac 206 

Whitmore, Elizabeth 164 

Whitlow, Justus 125 

Wildman, John 201 

Nathan 117 

Rebecca 195 

Wilkins, Rev. G. M 106 

Williams, Bishop 105 

Ebenezer 22, ^^ 

Elizabeth 194 

Mrs. Ellen 193 

Esther 86 

Jabez 75 

Lafayette S 145 

Thomas 11, 14, 17, 84 

Wilson, Aaron B 124 

Rev. Charles A 116 

Eben 126 

Isaac 75 

Joseph II 

William 142 

Witsel, Rev. Thos. K 122 

Wood, Abraham 214 

Esther 211, 216 

James 212 

Joseph P 216 

Lemuel 194 

Mary 218 

Michael 117 

Phebe 214 

Philo 127 

Samuel 194 

Squire 213, 221 

Uriah 215 

Woodruff, Albert 142 

Woodward, J. G 60 

Woolsey, Rev. Elijah 112 

Wooster, Gen 30, 32 

Yoder, Carl D 116 

Youngs, Abraham 217 

Christopher 75 

James, Rev 113 

Zell, Rev. Henrv 106 







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